World heritage sites at risk

Virunga National Park is inviting tourists on an overnight trek to view a spectacular eruption of Mount Nyamulagira, where rivers of incandescent lava are flowing slowly north into an uninhabited part of the park.

Virunga National Park is inviting tourists on an overnight trek to view a spectacular eruption of Mount Nyamulagira, where rivers of incandescent lava are flowing slowly north into an uninhabited part of the park.

Published Jul 10, 2012

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Africa’s World Heritage Sites are particularly at risk and the security situation in a number of them is “precarious”, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has warned.

These include the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, home to many of the world’s last mountain gorillas, and the neighbouring Okapi Wildlife Reserve, which was targeted by rebels in a revenge attack last week, killing eight people – including two rangers – and 13 okapi, with another of these enigmatic endangered animals seriously injured.

The IUCN was commenting at the conclusion of the World Heritage Committee in St Petersburg, Russia, at the end of last week.

Its experts warned that

many natural heritage sites faced “a barrage of threats” especially from mining and oil exploration, and that Africa’s were particularly at risk. More than 60 percent of the sites in West and Central Africa were “danger-listed”, and one in four were threatened by planned mining, oil and gas projects – including the Virunga National Park, where more than 130 rangers have been killed since 1996.

The Okapi Wildlife Reserve in Epulu, also the headquarters of the Institute in the Congo for Conservation of Nature (ICCN), was attacked last Sunday by Mai Mai militia rebels.

John Lukas of the Okapi Conservation Project (OCP) said it had taken 48 hours for the Congolese Army and Monusco (UN) troops to re-take control of the area around the town of Epulu.

“There are no words to describe the loss of the okapi at the station, some of which have been in residence for over 23 years and all made it through seven years of civil war unscathed,” he added.

“They were ambassadors for all wildlife in the forest and had been helping educate visitors to the station of the marvels of the diversity of life in the rainforest for over 25 years.”

Okapis were known to the ancient Egyptians, but were first seen by Westerners in the 20th century, and there are only an estimated 10 000 to 20 000 in the wild.

“It must be made clear that the Mai Mai rebels are not fighting for a political cause. This group is made up of elephant poachers and illegal miners. They were seeking revenge on ICCN for their valiant efforts to eliminate poaching of elephants and illegal gold mines from inside the Okapi Wildlife Reserve,” Lukas said.

Unesco, which manages the World Heritage Site programme, has launched an emergency appeal to raise $120 000 (R995 500) by July 20 to help the families of the victims and support the reserve (www.justgiving.com/okapi). - Cape Argus

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