International Gorilla Conservation Programme

International Gorilla Conservation Programme

Formation	1991
Type	INGO
Purpose	Environmental protection
Region served	Africa
Director	Eugène Rutagarama
Website	www.igcp.org
Formerly called	Mountain Gorilla Project

Mountain gorillas in Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo

The International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP) was formed in 1991 to ensure that the critically endangered mountain gorillas are conserved in their habitat in the mountain forests of the Virunga Massif in Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.^[1]

Origins

The programme grew out of the work of Dian Fossey, who began to study Rwandan mountain gorillas in the 1960s. African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) President Robinson McIlvaine later said that "There would be no mountain gorillas in the Virungas today ... were it not for Dian Fossey's tireless efforts over many years".^[2] McIlvaine initiated formation of the Mountain Gorilla Project in 1979, the predecessor to the IGCP, while he was president of the AWF.^[3] The International Gorilla Conservation Programme was formally established in 1991 by the AWF, Fauna & Flora International and the World Wide Fund for Nature.^[1]

During the ongoing and linked conflicts of the Rwandan Civil War (1990-1993) followed by the Rwandan Genocide of 1994 and the Second Congo War (1998-2003) the best that could be done was to attempt to support park workers, many of whom lost their lives.^[1]

Activities

The International Gorilla Conservation Programme works with the Rwanda Development Board, the Uganda Wildlife Authority and the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature. The IGCP tries to gain support for conservation among the local communities, and to ensure that the protected area authorities collaborate with these local communities.^[1] Among other activities, the IGCP works with Virunga Artisans, which markets handmade products of artisans who live near the Volcanoes, Mgahinga and Bwindi National Parks.^[4] A census of mountain gorillas in the Virunga Massif in March and April 2010 showed that there had been a 26.3% increase in the population over the past seven years, an encouraging sign that conservation efforts were succeeding.^[5]

References

Sources

"About the International Gorilla Conservation Programme". The International Gorilla Conservation Programme. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
"About Virunga Artisans". Virunga Artisans. Retrieved 2011-10-15.
"Celebrating AWF's 40th Anniversary". African Conservation Foundation. Retrieved 2011-10-18.
Masozera, Anna Behm (December 7, 2010). "Census confirms increase in population of the critically endangered Virunga mountain gorillas". Greater Virunga Transboundary Executive Secretariat. Retrieved 2011-10-15.
"Robinson McIlvaine 1913 - 2001". AWF. Retrieved 2011-10-18.

External links

Conservation of species

Conservation biology	Conservation behavior Conservation dependent species Conservation ethic Conservation genetics Conservation status Ex-situ conservation Extinction threshold In-situ conservation Latent extinction risk Marine conservation Species translocation Threatened species

Conservation areas	Conservation designation Conservation development Conservation district Conservation easement Ecoregion conservation status Environmental protection Gap analysis Habitat conservation High conservation value area Landscape-scale conservation Marine protected area National conservation area Open space reserve Riparian buffer Roadless area conservation Roadside conservation Site-based conservation Special Area of Conservation

Restoration	Assisted natural regeneration Ecosystem restoration Island restoration Reforestation afforestation Rewilding

By taxa	Amphibians and reptiles Birds burrowing owls raptors Insects bumblebees butterflies Land mammals bats bats 2 bears cheetahs cheetahs 2 gorillas painted dogs slow lorises small cats tigers tigers 2 wolves Marine Antarctic seals cetaceans cetaceans 2 manatees migratory sharks salmon sea otters sea turtles sturgeons Plants forests fungi medicinal plants orchids

By country	Australia Belize Brazil Hong Kong Iceland India Bhopal Ireland Italy New Zealand Papua New Guinea Uganda United Kingdom United States

Other	Biodiversity Conservation agriculture Conservation finance Conservation grazing Conservation management system Conservation movement Conservation officer Conservation organisations Conservation photography Conservation psychology Conservation refugee Conspicuous conservation De-extinction Myth of superabundance NatureServe conservation status Planetary boundaries

Index of conservation articles List of conservation issues Category

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, July 06, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.