Gorilla Journal 35, December 2007

Activities of the IGCP in the Mikeno Sector

The International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP) works closely with the governments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda in conserving the mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) in the afro-montane forests of the Virunga Massif and the Bwindi Forest. In particular, the IGCP collaborates with the protected area authorities responsible for the conservation of the fauna and flora of the region, i.e. the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) in the Congo; the Rwandan Office of Tourism and National Parks (ORTPN) in Rwanda and the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) in Uganda.

Ranger-Based Monitoring
In 1996, the IGCP initiated the Ranger-Based Monitoring (RBM) program in collaboration with national park authorities. This program focuses on routine monitoring conducted on a daily basis by park staff.
The RBM program encompasses a standard system of data collection in protected areas; the possession of reliable data enables the protected area authorities to develop plans and implement conservation activities with greater efficiency and better collaboration from all stakeholders. Moreover, these data will actively influence decision-making relating to protected area management, will help to define a set of ecological regional tasks, and will identify the threat level affecting both ecosystems.
IGCP supports both the ranger patrols who are responsble for monitoring, and the administrators who analyse and interpret the data in line with the park's management plan. IGCP is convinced that collaboration between protected areas will increase the efficiency of each individual protected area. This will make a substantial contribution to the protection of the parks of the Virunga Massif and Bwindi, resulting in an increase in the mountain gorilla populations. Due to the success of joint efforts in combating poaching in the protected areas, the park administrations continue to organize joint patrols with the support of the IGCP, uniting the staff of the two adjacent protected areas in the prevention or mitigation of conflicts arising between people and the fauna and flora of the Virunga and Bwindi ecosystems. Thanks to the RBM program, threats to biodiversity and the achievement of conservation objectives are easily identified within these two blocks of forest.
The RBM program allows the identification of indicators that will facilitate the follow-up and evaluation of conservation activities. In addition, it helps to identify priorities for scientific research, through the accumulation of accessible data stored in the regional information systems set up by IGCP.

Training
The RBM program includes a training course for monitoring supervisors and field staff. The course covers all aspects of monitoring and the use of field equipment - such as GPS, compasses and orientation maps - but also includes census techniques, gorilla identification, and so on.
The data collected through the RBM program need to be analysed and interpreted to ensure appropriate use in protected area management. Therefore training is also delivered in the use of important computer programs such as Access, ArcView, and Excel.
In fact, IGCP involvement guarantees comprehensive training for the units in charge of control and monitoring in the various protected areas enabling them to analyze the data that they have collected, and ensuring that the authorities of the protected areas have a regional vision of the processes taking place in and around the parks they are managing.

   RBM training

Collation of Reference Documents
The RBM program is a dynamic initiative. In Mikeno, as in the other protected areas that include gorilla habitats, IGCP is developing a range of reference documents including gorilla identity cards, an index of nasal prints, and various maps and topographical lists, and is providing logistical and financial support for the collection of data and their analysis. The RBM program is continually adapted to take into account changes in techno-logy and the equipment available to facilitate the better management of protected areas.

Income-generating Activities for the Communities around Mikeno
Information collated from socio-economic surveys conducted by IGCP, WCS, and CARE is used as a comparative database for the evalua-tion of the changes in resource use and efficiency of conservation interventions. In order to respond to the needs of the residents of Mikeno, IGCP in collaboration with ICCN is supporting several development initiatives (small income-generating activities) to im-prove the living standards of the local population and, consequently, to de-crease the pressure on the park's resources.

Monitoring the Level of Change Underway in Gorilla Habitats
IGCP collaborates closely with the European Space Agency and UNESCO in the development and use of remote sensing and other satellite-based techniques in order to monitor the gorilla habitats. Thanks to this collaboration, the information is continually incorporated into an RIS (Regional Information System). The use of satellite images permits the monitoring of changes in vegetation cover and human use of areas in the vicinity of the two forest blocks. Various organizations already use these remote monitoring methods in the region of the Albertine Rift (particularly WWF, WCS, USAID, UNEP and WCMC). Links to these organizations have been established in order to avoid repetition of activities and to allow new initiatives to profit from the programs and expertise already in place.

Composition of the Mikeno gorilla groups between December 2006 and August 2007
Up until December 31st, 2006, 85 habituated gorillas were followed regularly in the Mikeno Sector of the Virunga National Park (ViNP). In August 2007, only 70 animals were followed by monitoring teams in this sector. These gorillas are divided into 6 groups plus 4 lone animals. They were recently supplemented by a new infant that was born to Bilali in the Munyaga group during the night of August 20th to 21st. The Kwitonda group has stayed in the Volcanoes National Park (VNP) in Rwanda since November 2005 and currently includes 17 members; thanks to cross-border collaboration, the rangers of the Mikeno Sector have already visited the Kwitonda group several times, accompanied by VNP rangers. During the night of April 24th, 2007, twins were born to Mugeni. Unfortunately, only one of them survived into the following day, and the second twin also died due to disease on May 20th.

Augustin K. Basabose, IGCP, with information from Innocent Mburanumwe, ICCN

Dr. Augustin Kanyunyi Basabose has worked in the conservation of great apes in Central Africa for more than 10 years. He joined the IGCP in 2006 where he is the Conservation Science Officer leading the Ranger-based Monitoring Program, and also acting as the Country Representative in Congo.

Virunga National Park overview

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