New Delhi: It is a fact universally acknowledged that Africa is the hotbed of the biodiversity of Earth with numerous species of plants and animals calling the continent their home, with some of them being rare and endangered. Hence, the continent has several national parks and reserves to protect the wildlife from poaching, destruction of habitats and conflicts with humans. One of the famous national parks in Africa is the Virunga National Park and in this article, we will learn about this wildlife sanctuary.
Virunga National Park: Africa’s important wildlife sanctuary
The Virunga National Park is located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Albertine Rift Valley. It was created in 1925 and its elevation varies from 2,230 ft in the Semliki River valley to 16,762 ft in the Rwenzori Mountains. It covers a total area of 790,000 ha and comprises an outstanding diversity of habitats, ranging from swamps and steppes to the snowfields of Rwenzori, the lava plains to the savannahs on the slopes of volcanoes.
Virunga National Park: A volatile place
In April 1925, the Virunga National Park was established as the first national park of Congo as a nature reserve which will be operated based on science to study and preserve wildlife. In the subsequent years, the area of the national park was increased, which resulted in the indigenous people losing their traditional land rights and getting evicted from the protected area. Around 85,000 Rwandophone people were moved between the late 1930s and 1955 to nearby Masisi in North Kivu.
The political turmoil in the African Great Lakes region has affected the Virunga National Park since the 1990s. Thousands of refugees went there after the Rwandan genocide and the presence of military increased. After the First and Second Congo Wars, the region was further destabilized and the killings of wildlife and park personnel took place. Over the years, the region has remained chaotic due to armed militias and even in February 2021, the Italy’s ambassador to the DRC was killed by a militia.
The wildlife at the Virunga National Park
The Virunga National Park has 2,077 plant species including 264 species of trees and 230 species of plants which are endemic to the Albertine Rift. The park is mostly famous for being the home to mountain gorilla, which is listed as endangered by the IUCN. Among the other primates found there are common chimpanzee, red-tailed monkey, golden monkey, blue monkey and Dent’s mona monkey. The park has important wildlife concentrations, notably elephants, buffalo and Thomas cobs, and the largest concentration of hippopotamuses in Africa, with 20,000 individuals living on the banks of Lake Edward and along the Rwindi, Rutshuru and Semliki Rivers.
Virunga National Park: An UNESCO Heritage Site
The park has two active volcanoes, Mount Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira which have significantly shaped the diverse habitats and wildlife of the place. In 1979, it became a a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its rich diversity of habitats, exceptional biodiversity and endemism, for being home to rare mountain gorillas. Since 1994, it has been listed in the List of World Heritage in Danger due to civil unrest and increased human presence in the region. In 1996, the park became a Ramsar site of international importance.
Virunga National Park, located in the Democratic Republic of Congo, is a UNESCO World Heritage site renowned for its incredible biodiversity. Home to endangered mountain gorillas and a vast array of flora and fauna, the park faces ongoing challenges from conflict and human encroachment. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
