UN Urges Action After Gorilla Habitat Destroyed
Date: 08-Jul-04
Country: SOUTH AFRICA
Author: Ed Stoddard
The U.N. was responding to reports that six square miles of mountain gorilla habitat had been cleared in the Congo part of Virunga National Park, threatening one of the planet's rarest and most magnificent wild animals.
There are only about 700 mountain gorillas left in the world in the lush mountains straddling Rwanda, Uganda and the anarchic Congo, and any loss of remaining habitat could push one of humanity's closest relatives to extinction.
In all of Virunga there is only about 164 square miles of suitable gorilla habitat and so the loss of even six square miles is huge.
"Reports of extensive forest destruction and human encroachment (in Virunga) ... have profound implications for the future viability of this ecostsyem," Klaus Toepfer, the U.N.'s top environment official, said in letters to the environment ministers of the three countries.
"Evidence from satellite, aerial and ground surveys indicates that habitat destruction has occurred in some areas at a rate of up to two sq km (0.77 square miles) a day," said Toepfer, who is head of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
Reports said settlers had illegally cleared the forest in Virunga, a World Heritage Site, between April and June.
The border area has been a scene of tension in recent weeks after Congo accused Rwanda - which has twice invaded its giant neighbor in the past eight years - of backing renegade troops who briefly seized an eastern Congolese town in early June.
Rebel groups have used the gorillas' forest home for bloody incursions into all three countries.
But Toepfer said the gorillas had improbably thrived in the face of war.
"Despite more than 10 years of conflict in the region, the population of mountain gorilla has increased by 17 percent since 1989 and their habitat has largely been protected throughout this period," he said.
Mountain gorillas, reclusive but massive animals which live in family groups, are one of the very few tourist draws in the war-torn area and generate an estimate $2 million annually for the region.
The gorillas' plight was brought to world attention by murdered primatologist Diane Fossey, whose work was featured in the film "Gorillas in the Mist."
