News from Kahuzi-Biega

After the war, which started in October 1996, the security at the Tshivanga station began to improve until the beginning of 1998. Normal park duties were gradually resumed – for example, surveillance and research. Some development activities around the park, especially some rehabilitation activities and awareness campaigns were started again. The restoration of the infrastructure of Kahuzi-Biega National Park and especially of Tshivanga, which was nearly completed after the storm that had devastated the park in 1996 and destroyed most of the installations.
Unfortunately, this glimmer of hope was very brief because the same crimes that had been committed during the first war were repeated during the second war that started August 2, 1998. More destruction resulted.
Since that date, most activities have been discontinued, in the interior as well as the exterior of the park, because of insecurity. In the meantime, those responsible for the park and the project Kahuzi-Biega/GTZ (Gesellschaft für technische Zusammenarbeit - developmental aid organisation of the German government) have not been idle. The park and project employees who had stayed in Bukavu tried to make realistic and feasible plans to deal with the critical period until the situation returned to normal again.
Accordingly, it was decided to continue two activities: surveillance and local awareness. The aim of the surveillance was to reduce the destruction of the park's resources during the crisis. The park has been a battlefield for different parties from time to time. It is therefore difficult to plan activities in the interior of the park. In order to discourage troublemakers who take advantage of the crisis to carry out their destructive activities, the surveillance will now be directed around the park, where we are encouraging the traditional chiefs and the local administration to organize mixed patrols of rangers and local police. This form of collaboration had also been successful during and after the 1996 war.
By means of sensitization, we want to convince the population to reduce the present excessive destruction of the park's resources. To this end, the severe problems that the Kahuzi-Biega National Park experienced during the two wars were reported clearly to the local political and administrative authorities as well as the people living around the park, and appropriate solutions were found. As for surveillance, the priority with sensitization was to encourage communication between traditional chiefs and the local administration, and to ensure their inclusion in each activity.
We have learned from our surveillance efforts that large mammals, especially elephants, have already suffered from the poaching with firearms. So far, we have no evidence that any gorillas have been killed recently, according to the team of pygmy pisteurs who enter the park to localize the habituated groups. They ask their brothers to preserve this species because the economy of the park and their own survival depends on them.
In face of this reality, we wonder if this park and its biological diversity can survive in the long term if the destruction cannot be stopped soon. This World Heritage Site was at its height
4 years ago and was then the pride in particular of South Kivu, the Congo and informed scientists. Now it is generally sinking into disarray. The war has not stopped illegal land distribution in the park, especially in the corridor between the mountain and lowland sectors. Soon there will be two separate blocks of the Kahuzi-Biega National Park because the corridor which connects these two parts (mountain and lowland part) is being destroyed. Should we let this World Heritage Site deteriorate in plain view of the whole world? This is an alarm cry from the Kahuzi-Biega National Park directed at everybody who loves nature!

Mbake Sivha

Mbake Sivha studied biology at the University of Kisangani, Zaire, and worked in the IZCN/GTZ conservation project at Kahuzi-Biega National Park. She then specialized at Würzburg University, Germany, in animal ecology, biology of the tropics and sensitization of the population for environmental problems. From 1994 to 1999 she worked in the IZCN/GTZ project in sensitization and primate research. After joining the IGCP for some years, she is now working for FFI.

Kahuzi-Biega overview

Homepage