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Mountain Gorilla Survival Appeal
Latest News
August
2008
United States
to Support Mountain Gorilla Conservation
The New Times (Kigali)
NEWS
15 July 2008
Posted to the web 16 July 2008
By Martin Tindiwensi
Rubavu
The United States assistant Secretary
of State for Oceans, Environment and Science, Claudia A. McMurray,
has said that her government will continue to support the
conservation of the unique species of mountain gorillas found in the
Virunga Mountains.
McMurray said this while at a two-day
ministerial conference that started July 14 at Serena Kivu Sun Hotel
in Gisenyi town.
The conference, which was sponsored by
the United States Government, brought together tourism ministers
from the three countries that share the trans-boundary Virunga
region which include Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and
Rwanda, to highlight the successes and challenges to conservation
and economic development in the three states.
She said that the United States
government, together with other donor countries and various NGOs,
will support the ongoing efforts among the governments that share
the Virunga region to conserve biodiversity and support development
objectives laid down in a ten-year strategic plan to conserve the
unique natural resources of the region.
"The remarkable dedication of our
conservation partners in Virunga, despite many dangers, deserves
wide recognition. We believe that conservation can play an integral
role in establishing stability and supporting economic development
in the region," said McMurray.
According to Rwanda's minister of Trade
and Industry, Monique Nsanzabaganwa, gorillas are a common resource
shared by the three countries, and the three states have the moral
obligation to protect these valuable resources on behalf of the
entire world.
"Conservation of the gorillas in
Virunga Mountains cannot be done by only one state because they
(gorillas) don't need passports to cross to the trans-boundary
Virunga region. That is why we should combine forces and cooperation
in protection and preservation of these unique species," she
explained.
Uganda's Tourism State minister Serapio
Rukundo said that sustained tourism growth was one of the major ways
to economic development. He said there was need to protect the
landscape that is home to one of the worlds' most endangered and
threatened species.
"As we discuss conservation in the
region, we must be mindful of the people we serve, like those who
live along the protected areas because they are part of the
landscape and therefore part of conservation. These are the people
whose land and crops are destroyed by the animals. We must therefore
prove our relevancy to the people we serve through enhanced
conservation benefits by proper manifestation of shared policy of
poverty reduction," he said.
In her remarks, the director of the
Rwandan Office of Tourism and National Parks (ORTPN) Chantal Rosette
Rugamba thanked the United States and other donor countries for
supporting the three countries in their struggle to fulfill their
ten-year strategic plan laid down to conserve the unique natural
resources of the region.
"The mountain gorillas found in the
trans-boundary Virunga region are unique and the very few remaining
species worldwide. Virunga Mountains contain 325 out of the 720
remaining mountain gorillas in the world," explained Rugamba, adding
that their uniqueness was a blessing since they uphold the tourism
sectors in the three countries.
She said that the three countries need
to come up with a permanent insecurity and poverty eradication
strategy since both factors were major enemies of the wellbeing of
the mountain gorillas.
"Last year, seven mountain gorillas
were murdered in the DRC territory. This was a great loss that
attracted the attention of the world media. We should therefore find
a permanent security solution to avoid further losses," Rugamba
said.
She revealed that Rwanda alone
generated US$7 million from tourists who came from allover the world
to visit the unique gorillas last year, and that ORTPN expects the
revenue to increase to US$8 million this year.
She also thanked the Netherlands
government for supporting Rwanda in its conservation programmes.
Copyright ©
2008 The New Time
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