The Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda Unite for Conservation in the Central Albertine Rift

Home to the world's remaining mountain gorillas and many other endemic species of mammals, birds and plants, the Central Albertine Rift region will soon be the focus of joint conservation efforts by the governments of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Uganda.

On October 14, 2005 ministers from the three African nations came together to sign the Tripartite Declaration on the transboundary natural resource management of this biodiverse region. This declaration recognizes the need to conserve the unique ecosystem of the Central Albertine Rift Transfrontier Protected Area Network through the collaborative management of Volcano National Park, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Semliki National Park, Ruwenzori Mountains National Park, Kibale National Park, and Virunga National Park. The declaration aims at establishing a strategic management system that will enable sustainable conservation of natural resources for the benefit of the people of Rwanda, Uganda, the DRC, and the international community.

The International Gorilla Conservation Program (IGCP), a joint program of the African Wildlife Foundation, Fauna & Flora International (FFI), and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) - was the driving force behind the signing of the Tripartite Declaration, and orchestrated the meeting of the ministers from the three countries. This is excellent news for conservation in the Central Albertine Rift, said Eugene Rutagarama, Director of IGCP. In our work, we have been challenged with coordinating staff from one country to another for joint activities like patrols, training, and enforcing laws against animal trafficking. This declaration provides the political support to strengthen existing activities and opens a door for future conservation efforts.

The Central Albertine Rift transboundary region supports high biodiversity and important natural resources, including the 700 remaining endangered mountain gorillas. The overall goal of the declaration is to conserve the biodiversity of the region and subsequently to reduce poverty in the three countries. The eight parks will be managed as one collective ecosystem, and the countries have pledged to further collaborate on research, monitoring, community-based conservation, knowledge-sharing and ecotourism to ensure sustainable biodiversity conservation.

Building on this united declaration, the DRC, Rwanda and Uganda will work together to complete a unified Transboundary Strategic Plan by the end of 2005. A collaborative protocol among the three governments will be formalized to ensure agreement of management of the protected areas of the Central Albertine Rift.