Nouvelles du Réseau
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Emergency Appeal for Virunga National Park |
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Écrit par Emmanuel de Merode
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Summary
Virunga National Park, Africa’s oldest and biologically most valuable National Park, is threatened with imminent destruction as a result of extremely violent combat between government forces and rebels loyal to the dissident general Laurent Nkunda since 26th October 2008. The fighting has created one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes in recent history. Rangers and their families are among the victims.
The Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) and its partners are proposing an emergency programme to:
- Protect the lives of Rangers and their families;
- Advocate for the neutrality of all conservation workers, both ICCN and those working for partner organisations, in order to secure safe access to conflict-affected areas;
- Prepare and plan for the resumption of effective conservation in the conflict-affected areas, especially the Mountain Gorilla Sector;
- Take the necessary measures to prevent mass deforestation of Virunga National Park by Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the many camps on the periphery of the park.
Context
On Sunday 26th October, Virunga National
Park’s headquarters suffered a violent attack by CNDP rebels. This
marked the beginning of a massive confrontation between rebel and
government troops that has engulfed the southern half of Virunga
National Park, placing it almost entirely under rebel control. The
humanitarian catastrophe that followed has contributed to the presence
of over 1 million displaced people in the immediate periphery of the
National Park, to the north of the provincial capital, Goma. Rangers
and their families have taken refuge in a displaced people’s camp
established by ICCN and which is now home to more than 165 families
(over 1000 individuals).
Virunga National Park, and in particular
its mountain gorilla range, is critically threatened: it’s staff, who
have protected the park almost continuously throughout Congo’s 12-year
civil war, are now exposed to high levels of insecurity, and a lack of
adequate shelter, clean water, food and sanitation. The challenges
facing Virunga’s Rangers are compounded by severe financial constraints
following the completion on 31st October 2008 of a key donor-funded
programme that covered Rangers’ salary supplements, known as primes.
Primes, averaging about US$30 per month per Ranger and $25,167 for all
680 Rangers in the park, have often been the only source of revenue for
Rangers in wartime when government salaries are either minimal or
absent. As of 1st November 2008 there are no funds for primes.
The Congolese park authorities and their
international NGO partners are actively involved in identifying ways to
resume effective wildlife conservation in rebel-held territory. A
major priority remains the protection of Congo’s mountain gorillas in
the Mikeno Sector, which is under rebel control. Precedence for such a
programme exists with the coalition that was established between
1999-2006 under the auspices of UNESCO. The programme, which included
a number of major conservation groups, successfully maintained
conservation efforts throughout Virunga National Park by advocating a
strong message of neutrality to the warring parties.
Another priority is to avoid the mistakes of the 1994 crisis when
humanitarian agencies did not provide firewood to refugees who had to
turn to Virunga’s forest for cooking food and heating. The Nyamulagira
sector of Virunga has not yet recovered, 14 years on, from the
resulting widespread deforestation.
Strategy and Priority Actions
ICCN has made the decision to kickstart a proactive and wide-reaching
programme to maintain high levels of activity and morale amongst its
staff, especially those currently in internally displaced camps. We
will seize opportunities to reach conservation goals that can be
obtained despite the current insecurity.
Priority Actions are :
- Support for rangers and their families in internally displaced camps, specifically the camp in Goma
- Launch of alternative energy activities by rangers and their families
- Advocacy actions to regain access to conflict affected areas in the park
- Planning
and implementation of conservation activities throughout the Southern
and Central Sectors of the park (training, equipment maintenance etc)
Budget in US$
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Item
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Description
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Qty
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Item cost
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Total
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Establishment of displacement camp near Goma
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One-time paymt
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1
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14,300
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14,300
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3 months' maintenance of Ranger Refugee Camp
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Total 3 months
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1
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90,000
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90,000
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Uniforms (rangers affected by looting)
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Per ranger
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371
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120
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44,520
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Patrolling Equipment (rucksack,tent etc)
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One-off paymt
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1
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24,500
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24,500
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Patrol rations
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Per ranger
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630
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150
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94,500
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Primes (salary supplements for 3 months)
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Per month
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3
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25,167
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75,501
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Non-food item kits for displaced rangers's families
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Per family
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371
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30
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11,130
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Fuel
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Per vehicle
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7
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1,200
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8,400
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Medical supplies
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Per month
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3
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3,500
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10,500
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Educational kits (420 children)
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Per child
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420
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10
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4,200
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Basic rehabilitation, Rumangabo and Gorilla Sector patrol posts
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One-time paymt
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1
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24,000
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24,000
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Advocacy (travel and meetings)
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One-time paymt
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1
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12,000
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12,000
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Resource protection (prevention of deforestation)
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One-time paymt
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1
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38,000
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38,000
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Resource protection (monitoring equipment)
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One-time paymt
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1
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6,300
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6,300
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Provision of wood stoves, firewood & alternative energy
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One-time paymt
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1
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80,000
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80,000
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TOTAL
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$537,851
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Funds Received to Date in US$
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Organization
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Total
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Comment
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ICCN
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88,694
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Pledged, $30,000 received to date
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International Gorilla Conservation Programme
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50,000
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Received
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Africa Conservation Fund (UK)
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34,000
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Pledged
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Zoological Society of London
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16,000
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Pledged
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Wildlife Conservation Society
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5,000
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Received (another $5,000 pledged)
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World Wildlife Fund
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44,300
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Received (plus $10K in kind)
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The Thin Green Line
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5,000
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Received (plus $5K for widows)
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TOTAL
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$242,994
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TOTAL SHORTFALL NEEDED URGENTLY BY 25TH NOVEMBER 2008 :
US$ 294,857
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Crisis Team
The team leading the planning, operations and communications for this
appeal is headed up by Emmanuel de Merode, Director of Virunga National
Park.
The following individuals are the key players :
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Norbert Mushenzi – Deputy Director of Virunga National Park
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Balemba Balagezi - Ranger Refugee Camp Manager
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Ephrem Balole - Technical Planning
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Joel Wengamulay - Finance Manager
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Samantha Newport - Communications
Financial Information
Credit Card Payments
Payments can be made toward the ICCN appeal using all major credit cards at www.gorilla.cd
Bank Details
CORRESPONDENT BANK:
Correspondent bank name: CITIBANK N.A.
Bank location : New York NY 10043, USA
ABA Routing number : 021 000 089
SWIFT: CITIUS33
US account title: Banque Internationale de Crédit SARL
US account number: 36247451
BENEFICIARY BANK:
- Beneficiary bank name: Banque Internationale de Crédit SARL
- Bank account title: ICCN / Station de Rumangabo
- Bank account number: 22072010901-68 USD
Accounts
ICCN will provide accounts audited by PriceWaterhouseCoopers for all monies received toward this appeal by November 2009.
Due to the persistent volatility of the situation on the ground funds
may need to be channeled toward additional activities. All donors will
be informed of any such changes.
Fundraising
For a copy of this appeal in pdf format please email
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To ensure effective coordination of field activities please inform us of donations made toward this appeal.
ICCN welcomes fundraising initiatives by organizations towards this
appeal and kindly requests that all such activities be conducted in
coordination with ICCN.
Thank you all for your ongoing support for Virunga National Park.
Sincerely,
Emmanuel de Merode
Director, Virunga National Park
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