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Gorilla Journal 15, December 1997
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
It is impressive to note what Klaus-Jürgen Sucker achieved during
the 5 years that he worked in the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, a habitat
of the mountain gorillas on the northern side of the Virunga Volcanoes.
From 1989 until the sudden end of his work in 1994, the protected area
was enlarged and turned into a national park, the boundaries were clearly
marked and protected and he ensured that the local people would benefit
from tourism in the area.
Three years after the murder of Klaus-Jürgen Sucker, it is still
amazingly evident that his strategy for protecting the area was well-planned
and optimally suited for the conditions in the area. The forested area,
which once was strewn with snares for wild animals and threatened by deforestation
to make way for potato farming, is now a promising habitat for rare plant
and animal species of the afromontane and afro-alpine region – despite
the civil war in this area.
Not only the area of the park covered with primary vegetation appears
to thrive; the central region of the area covered with secondary vegetation
has also developed into valuable secondary forest (Hypericum forest).
Noteworthy was the blooming and subsequent mass extinction of the Mimulopsis
arborescens vegetation at the Sabinyo volcano this year.
However, in vast areas of the succession area, afro-montane grassland
predominates, and the natural regeneration of the vegetation is halted.
The invasion of Australian plants (Eucalyptus spp., Acacia mearnsii)
continues to spread in an uncontrolled manner.
The positive development of the flora and fauna in this area that we were
able to observe since 1989 can only persist if the local population living
close to the boundaries of the national park continue to accept the park
as such. The park is an important source of income for the villagers and
the benefit sharing program that the management has implemented supports
the people living near the park: 20% of the entrance fees to the Mgahinga
Gorilla National Park are used to support projects within the communities
adjacent to the park. The money is currently being used to support the
construction of schools in three adjacent communities. This has strengthened
the hopes of the people in the Kisoro region that their situation will
improve, which was indeed one of the reasons why they agreed to establish
the park in the first place. Substantial financial independence was also
achieved for the management of the national park: The salary for all the
park rangers can now be covered with the proceeds from tourism. This fortunate
situation – being independent of external funding – is the basis
of a sense of confidence that prevailed among the people we came in contact
with during our visit.
Richard Bukowa (Warden for Law Enforcement and Tourism) informed us of
a failed attempt by tourists to bribe the rangers. These tourists wanted
to arrange an illegal tour to the mountain gorillas, but instead were
escorted out of the park, and their money was not accepted. (In July 1997
the number of visitors to the habituated gorillas in Uganda was exceptionally
high, since gorilla tourism in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the
Congo was temporarily halted at that time.)
On the other hand, the flourishing business with gorilla tourism has produced
massive changes in the daily duties and priorites of the rangers. At the
moment, they are primarily concerned with managing the problems which
have ensued due to the high number of visitors to the park. The consequences
of this may be that the control of the boundaries of the national park,
anti-poaching patrols and measures against wood-cutting in the area are
neglected. We frequently found damage in the border wall along the park
and traced small used paths which led into the park.
Our starting point for cooperating with the management of the park is
our interest to ascertain the number of unhabituated gorilla groups and
solitary animals in the park. Except for the composition of the habituated
gorilla group (2 silverbacks, 3 adult females, 2 juveniles and 2 babies),
there is no recent information on the number of unhabituated gorillas
in the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. We suggested that the population
of unhabituated gorillas should be monitored with financial support from
Berggorilla & Regenwald Direkthilfe, and this was favorably
received. Ignatius Achoka, the new head of the park, started to organize
patrols that are especially concerned with these issues.
Despite this encouraging news about the successful preservation and conservation
of the Mgahinga National Park, it should not be forgotten that this park
only comprises a small area of the total habitat of the mountain gorilla.
To ensure the survival of the whole population, improvements in the two
other parks of the Virungas, the Parc National des Volcans (Rwanda) and
the Virunga National Park (D. R. Congo) are urgently needed.
Ursula Karlowski and Iris Weiche
Dr. Ursula Karlowski became involved
in rain forest conservation in 1988, especially in southwestern Uganda.
Currently she is working at the University of Rostock. Her special interests
are vegetation change and nature conservation strategies.
Iris Weiche started her work with primates,
in the wild and in zoos, in 1990. At the moment she works on female gorillas
in zoos. Since 1994 she has been active for the Berggorilla & Regenwald
Direkthilfe, and from 1997 to 2002 she was a member of the Board of
Directors.
Mgahinga overview
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