44 | New Scientist | 11 June 2022
1000 are left and a third live here — the rest are
in neighbouring Uganda and Rwanda. It is also
home to critically endangered eastern lowland
gorillas and chimpanzees. The park, a UNESCO
World Heritage Site, is the only place where
these three great ape species reside together.
However, it is also among the most densely
populated wildernesses on Earth. Some
80,000 people live inside it and 4 million
within a day’s walk. As a result, humans are the
biggest threat to Virunga. Poachers and loggers
are usually portrayed as villains – uncaring and
ignorant about the damage they do to their
own lands. The reality is more complicated.
Sure, some poachers are driven by greed. But
there is widespread malnutrition, and people’s
primary protein source, besides fish, is game
meat. Meanwhile, the charcoal trade is a slash-
and-burn industry that exploits communities
that lack another energy source to cook, light
or heat their homes. It is also big money,
generating around $40 million a year, mostly
for the numerous rebel groups that operate in
and around Virunga.Agricultural invasion
“People are looking for fields and other natural
resources for their survival,” says Samson
Rukira, an environmental activist from
Rutshuru, a town outside the park. That is why
deforestation has accelerated. In a new report,
the Global Forest Watch online platform
estimates that Virunga lost almost 10 per cent
of its tree cover between 2001 and 2020.
Satellite imagery shows that destruction of
primary forest tripled between 2017 and 2018.
In 2020 alone, the DRC lost 1.31 million hectares
of forest, equivalent to 854 million tonnes of
carbon dioxide emissions.
“About 8 per cent of the park is invaded by
agriculture,” says de Merode. This guarantees
direct competition with species like forest
elephants and mountain gorillas, which rely
on dense tree cover. In fact, gorilla numbers
in Virunga have doubled since de Merode took
charge, thanks to increased patrols and better
protection — but higher concentrations of
gorillas can lead to fields getting pillaged
and angry farmers, a major problem in
neighbouring Rwanda. Elephants can be a
problem too. Virunga is building fences toIn 2014, Netflix aired
Virunga, a documentary that
was nominated for an Oscar.
Back then, the eponymous
national park in the
Democratic Republic of the
Congo faced major threats
from oil exploration and an
invasion by armed rebels.
Days before the film
premiered, the park’s director
Emmanuel de Merode was on
the way back to Virunga after
giving evidence against the
oil firm involved. That is
when he was ambushed.
Men with automatic rifles
fired on his Land Rover and
he was hit in the chest and
stomach. He returned fire
with his AK-47 and hid in thebush. Thirty minutes later,
he emerged a bloody mess.
His attackers had fled, but
the engine of his truck was
riddled with bullets, and
undriveable.
De Merode managed to
hitch a ride with two farmers
who strapped him onto their
motorbike. Hours later, he
was in a hospital in the city
of Goma where emergency
surgery saved his life — but
not before he had helped the
Indian and Congolese doctors
communicate, translating
via English and French, so
that they could perform the
operation together. Three
weeks later, de Merode
was back on the job.Dangerous work
“ Men with automatic
rifles fired on his
Land Rover”
Emmanuel de
Merode surveys
Virunga, the national
park he is devoted
to protectingADAMPOPE
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