Combating wildlife crime in Virunga is an ongoing challenge

Virunga National Park is one of the most biodiverse areas on the planet. But its wildlife is severely threatened by poaching and illegal wildlife trafficking. From 2020 through 2022, IFAW and IUCN NL joined forces to combat the poaching and trafficking of wildlife between Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo. We did this together with our partner organisation Alerte Congolaise pour l’Environnement et les Droits de l’Homme (ACEDH). Together with Olivier Ndoole from ACEDH and IUCN NL’s Paul Villaespesa, we reflect on the challenging task of combating wildlife crime in Virunga.

Wildlife crime in Virunga

Stretching across Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Uganda, the Greater Virunga Landscape is one of the most biodiverse areas on the planet. It is home to some of the world’s rarest species of plants and animals, but poaching and wildlife trafficking threaten the park’s biodiversity. Populations of hippos, elephants, monkeys, and pangolins are plummeting as poachers catch these animals and sell them for their parts. Limited resources, political insecurity and instability in eastern DRC make it very difficult for law enforcement officers to protect wildlife. 

‘There is a very clear link between illicit trafficking and insecurity, or even instability, in the region. The fight against crime exposes the people defending animal rights and national parks. Two military officers, including the military auditor of Rusthuru, Major William Hassani, have been assassinated in the area of Goma. They were killed by certain members of a unit of the FARDC [Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in English] that is, according to sources, involved in wildlife trafficking activities,’ shares Olivier Ndoole, a Congolese environmental and human rights defender and co-founder of ACEDH. Last month, he won a prestigious award for human rights defenders.

‘The way we have been supporting and working with local partner organisations is important. This is highlighted by project results, but also by the international awards our partners have received for their work, such as Olivier, and the strengthened collaboration between ACEDH and the Virunga National Park management.’

–        Paul Villaespesa, Expert East Africa at IUCN NL

ACEDH is an environmental and human rights organisation in North Kivu. ‘We have been supporting ACEDH for almost 10 years with programmes and projects working on land grabbing, wildlife trafficking and illegal natural resource exploitation activities,’ says Paul Villaespesa, Expert East Africa at IUCN NL.

‘The way we have been supporting and working with local partner organisations is important. This is highlighted by project results, but also by the international awards our partners have received for their work, such as Olivier, and the strengthened collaboration between ACEDH and the Virunga National Park management.’

Strengthening the judicial system

Law enforcement officers have a difficult task tracking down and arresting people involved in the poaching and trafficking of protected wildlife in the area of Virunga. According to Ndoole, ‘insecurity and the absence of state authority in a large part of the areas occupied by armed groups cause impunity.’

With IFAW and ACEDH, we have strengthened capacity by training investigating officers in eastern DRC, who can act as the first line of defence against poachers. ACEDH also organised awareness meetings for judicial officers, including a judicial symposium. These activities improved the handling of environmental and wildlife cases by judicial officers in the region, including the military prosecutors who did not see wildlife cases as a priority before. The judicial symposium resulted in increased awareness among judicial officers and improved relationship between them and the park management, improving the outcomes of court cases. Mobile courts enabled ACEDH and the park management to closely monitor and follow up on court cases.

‘The fight against wildlife crime is complex and needs to be constantly updated, because the methods and techniques used quickly become less effective when criminals master and circumvent them.’

–        Olivier Ndoole, co-founder ACEDH

Information exchange through community participation

People living around Virunga National Park have provided useful information to the park management and security forces. This information supported them in taking down militia camps in the national park, as well as preventing planned attacks on park installations and staff. The community members also provided information leading to the arrest of one of the leaders responsible for killing elephants and hippos in Virunga.

According to the Chief Warden of Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park, which borders Lake Edward on the other side, the involvement of community members in tackling wildlife and environmental crime, combined with increased law enforcement patrols, has resulted in reduced poaching incidents in the past two. ‘We, however, continue to face challenges on how to motivate the selected people form the communities due to limited resources,’ he says.

The ongoing fight against wildlife crime

The project of ACEDH, IFAW and IUCN NL has taken significant step forwards in combatting wildlife crime in Virunga National Park. It is important to continue these efforts, states Ndoole: ‘The fight against wildlife crime is complex and needs to be constantly updated, because the methods and techniques used quickly become less effective when criminals master and circumvent them. Applying technological innovations to the judicial approach and increasing awareness throughout the region are essential to effectively combat this type of crime.’