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Why is the Democratic Republic of the Congo
important to the United States?
You can also help by making a donation to
WildlifeDirect.org. Make a donation today and receive a free
DVD from Rick LoBello.
Click here for details. Why the Congo is important to the United States
1. Africa matters. Africa is a continent of boundless
potential, and we will continue to do everything in our power to help Americans
realize that potential, to help Africans realize that potential and together
create a more hopeful future. Secretary of State Powell, June 2003.
3. There are rich natural resources in the DRC and the extraordinary human resource potential that can make the country one of our most valuable trading partners.
4. The DRC is working to protect the environment and preserve its
extraordinary resources. The current fighting in the eastern part of the country
is threatening Virunga National Park’s unique and endangered wildlife including
the critically endangered mountain gorilla. This amazing creature is important
to future ecotourism in the DRC and current ecotourism revenues in both Rwanda
and Uganda. Ecotourism is an important part of the economies of these countries
which helps to maintain overall political stability in the Great Lakes Region.
6. A stable government in the DRC is important to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in monitoring potentially catastrophic disease outbreaks including pandemics.
7. A stable government in the DRC is important to the global war
on terrorism. The United States is working closely with African nations to
improve intelligence gathering and monitoring the flow of money and people to
combat terrorism. The DRC is a key player for the US in Sub-Saharan Africa.
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Farmers
near Virunga’s Park playing key role in helping gorillas The blog goes on to report: this is Balemba’s report on progress so far: We had our first meeting today, Sunday, in the afternoon. We were joined by Felix Balibua, of the Rumangabo Youth Alliance, and the two team leaders, one from Jomba and the other from Bukima. Both are internally displaced and live near Rumangabo with relatives. They climb up to their fields during the day, to try to keep their crops from being destroyed, but cannot stay at night because of insecurity. They have reported that the rebels have their main base at Jomba, and a secondary base at Bukima. So they have taken over the ranger’s patrol posts, and are well entrenched and settled for the long haul. This is bad news, as it will make it all the more difficult for the rangers to recover their patrol posts. The rebels have forbidden anyone from getting close to Bukima or Jomba, except for a few people herding livestock. Infact, there is no longer anybody actually living in Bukima, other than an old widow and her two sheep. She has refused to move. They have, however seen a group of 6 gorillas in the corn fields between Bukima and Bikenge about a month ago, but since then the fields have been destroyed and they don’t come out of the forest any more. The group is probably the Rugendo group, whose seven other members were massacred in July last year. They regularly went out of the park. It needs verification, but it would be very good news that the six are alive and well. The rangers’ patrol post at Bikenge has been left in a terrible state by the rebels. They no longer live there, but they are regularly present in the area. When they appear, they catch farmers and impose forced labour, including transporting water, and planting marijuana for them, which is now growing all around the patrol post. Follow the almost daily posts on WildlifeDirect.org and show your support for conservation efforts around the world. World Heritage PropertiesStates PartiesActivitiesSee Also
Learn more about what is happening to the mountain gorillas of the international
park Virunga volcanoes region in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the
Congo. There is amazing new blog with almost daily updates by park warden
Paulin Ngobobo at
www.wildlifedirect.org and CNN's Anderson
Cooper has been putting together some additional reports. I Love Parks Community |
