News from the Congo Basin forests

Bruno WENN, Director General of KfW (Africa) and WWF International Director General, Jim Leape at the entrance into the Dzanga Sangha Project area in Bayanga, Central African Republic

06 Aug 2008
Congo Basin is one of the most important places on earth, Jim P. Leape

The Director General of WWF International, Jim P. Leape accompanied by the Director General of the Africa region segment of the German Dvelopment Bank, KfW recently made a whirlwind trip to parts of the Congo Basin rainforest, where the visited protected areas, logging companies and met WWF teams on the ground. While in Lobeke National Park, in the Southeast of Cameroon the WWF International Drector General spoke about the importance of the green heart of Africa and conservation challenges that lie ahead.

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The Congo Basin rainforest is the second-largest in the world, after the Amazon rainforest.

31 Jul 2008
Congo Basin passes 1 million ha milestone in swing to sustainable forestry
Yaoundé, Cameroon - WWF today announced that more than one million hectares of Congo Basin forests have achieved certification under the world’s leading sustainable forestry scheme.
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The receding glaciers of the Stanley Group at Rwenzori, 1952 (top) and 2008 (below)

17 Mar 2008
Vanishing central African glaciers signal climate danger
Forget the snows of Kilimanjaro – Africa is at risk of losing the central African glaciers that are the highest permanent source of water to the Nile

A WWF and partner organization expedition to the Rwenzori mountains has gathered graphic evidence of declining glaciated areas, with new estimates being that the glaciers will completely disappear in the next 30 years » Read more

The total population of the mountain gorilla subspecies is about 700 individuals, split almost evenly into two groups: one in the Virunga range of volcanoes on the Uganda-Rwanda-DRC border, and the other in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda.

22 Feb 2008
Congo, Rwanda and Uganda united to save mountain gorillas
Borders will matter less to central Africa’s mountain gorillas, following the launch of a strategic conservation plan and an associated project which covers adjoining areas of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. » Read more

Millions dependent on the health of the Congo basin will benefit from the declaration of three new RAMSAR wetlands, including the world's second largest.

02 Feb 2008
Congo Wetlands reserve to be world's second largest
WWF has welcomed the World Wetlands Day declaration of the world’s second largest internationally recognized and protected significant wetlands reserve in the Congo as a clear sign of the world’s increasing interest in the green heart of Africa. » Read more

Mountain gorillas (<I>Gorilla beringei beringei</I>), Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo.

24 Nov 2007
Ten millionth tree planted in Congo's gorilla habitat
WWF and Congolese authorities are celebrating the ten millionth tree planted around Virunga National Park in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a crucial habitat for the endangered mountain gorilla. » Read more

14 Nov 2007
Vote for Eugène Rutagarama to be #1 CNN Hero

"My name is Eugène Rutagarama and my work is to protect mountain gorillas."

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A mountain gorilla and her young. Virunga National Park is home to more than half the world's 700 remaining mountain gorillas — one of the world's most critically endangered species.

27 Sep 2007
Another mountain gorilla killed in Congo
A ring of suspected moutain gorilla traffickers operating in Virunga National Park were busted by local wildlife officials as they tried to sell the body of a female mountain gorilla. The crime brings the number of gorillas killed in the park so far this year to 10. » Read more

Sabinyo volcano and Virunga National Park, DRC.

12 Sep 2007
WWF works with UN refugee agency to protect Congo's Virunga National Park
WWF and UNHCR are working together to prevent encroachment into the World Heritage-listed Virunga National Park by displaced people after several weeks of civil unrest in the area. » Read more

31 Aug 2007
Remains of another mountain gorilla found in Congo
The remains of a fifth mountain gorilla have been found following a brutal execution style attack in July which left a silverback male and three female gorillas dead. » Read more

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