Stakeholders Meet to Discuss Increasing Illegal Activities in Volcanoes National Park | International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP)International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP)

Volcanoes National Park stakeholders including Community-based conservation organizations, law enforcement personnel, Conservation NGOs from Burera and Musanze park-edge districts recently met to
devise means to improve park management as well as strengthen conservation measures following key issues highlighted in the Ranger Based Monitoring report. Increased Illegal activities like poaching,
honey collection, bamboo cutting, and the presence of feral dogs were among the raised challenges. Human wildlife conflict incidences are also said to have increased due to some mountain gorilla families like Igisha, Kwisanga and Kwitonda that often leave the park to range in community gardens. “We cannot fix these issues on our own, we need your support and collaboration to find logical solutions to them,” said Prosper Uwingeli, Chief Park Warden, Volcanoes National Park.

The meeting came up with several recommendations including strengthening collaboration and information flow between the park and local communities and conducting regular community meetings to create conservation awareness and address conservation challenges before they escalate.