Virunga National Park

Africa's oldest national park is home to three species of great apes, more than a million people who depend on its ecosystems, and one of the most complex conservation challenges on Earth. Re:wild and the Virunga Foundation are working to protect it.

Africa's oldest and most biodiverse protected area

Virunga National Park spans more than 3,000 square miles of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is Africa's oldest national park, home to over 2,000 plant species, 706 bird species, and 218 mammal species. It is the only protected area on Earth where Mountain Gorillas, Grauer's Gorillas, and Eastern Chimpanzees share the same forest.

The park is co-managed by the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) and the Virunga Foundation, and spans more than 3,000 square miles of some of the most ecologically rich and politically complicated terrain on the continent.

Protecting the park means protecting the people around it.

The communities surrounding Virunga depend on the park's ecosystems for water, food, and livelihoods. But armed militia, poaching, illegal charcoal operations, and the pressure of displaced populations have put both the wildlife and those communities under serious threat. More than 200 park rangers have lost their lives protecting the park since the beginning of the first Congolese civil war, many of whom have fallen in the line of duty while providing security to the park’s civilian population. Photo © Bobby Neptune

Three great ape species in one forest.

Mountain Gorilla populations have more than doubled since 1989, from around 620 individuals to more than 1,000 today. Virunga has been central to that recovery.

Re:wild supports the Virunga Foundation in restoring and protecting the park with a focus on recovering both Mountain and Grauer's Gorilla populations. We also support the GRACE Gorilla sanctuary in DRC, which is working to establish a community protected area dedicated to Grauer's Gorilla protection.

Learn More About GRACE

Security and livelihoods are conservation tools here.

The cycle driving instability around Virunga is specific. Conflict displaces farmers. Displaced farmers lose income. Lost income makes armed groups an economic option. Break the cycle and conservation becomes possible.

Through Re:wild's Rapid RESCUE Facility, co-funded by the European Union, we provided rapid support for security infrastructure and agricultural development in the areas most affected by ADF militia violence.

The Re:wild Solution

Re:wild partners with the Virunga Foundation on conservation and community stabilization inside and around the park. The work starts from a premise that is unusual in conservation: wildlife cannot be protected in a landscape where people are not safe.

That means working simultaneously on ranger protection, gorilla recovery, and the agricultural value chains that give communities a reason to support the park rather than exploit it. The Virunga Foundation's model, which Re:wild actively supports, connects civilian security with sustainable agriculture and long-term economic development. It is one of the most innovative approaches to conservation in a conflict-affected landscape anywhere in the world.

Photo © Bobby Neptune

Gorilla recovery
Supporting Mountain and Grauer's Gorilla population recovery in partnership with the Virunga Foundation and GRACE Gorilla sanctuary.
Ranger protection
Rapid RESCUE Facility funding for security infrastructure.
Farmer security
Security convoys and forward operating bases have eliminated militia attacks on farmers in target areas since 2021.
Agricultural value chains
Processing facilities for cocoa and palm oil give communities traceable, legal income and reduce dependence on conflict-driven livelihoods.
Long-term stability
Linking conservation to economic development and civilian security as a model for peace in one of the world's most complex conflict landscapes.