MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE PLEDGES STRONGER PROTECTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KIGALI 000499 SENSITIVE SIPDIS OES A/S CMCMURRAY USAID JFLYNN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID ECON EFIN EINV ETRD PGOV PREL RW SUBJECT: MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE PLEDGES STRONGER PROTECTION TO MOUNTAIN GORILLA HABITAT ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: In a U.S.-led conference on conservation of the Greater Virunga Transboundary Landscape - home to the world's last 700 mountain gorillas - ministers from Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) pledged to strengthen conservation and security efforts in the region. In a joint declaration July 15, the three governments recognized the unique nature of the Greater Virunga Landscape and called for investment in eco-tourism friendly infrastructure, implementation of revenue sharing policies benefiting local communities and institutionalization of regional conservation cooperation. The Ministerial Declaration condemned the presence of armed groups in the DRC area of Virunga National Park and called for their disarmament and evacuation from protected areas. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) The State Department Bureau of Oceans, Environment and Science (OES) and USAID/CARPE sponsored the conference, held in Gisenyi, Rwanda July 13-15. Attendees included tourism and environment ministers from the three countries that border the Greater Virunga Transboundary Landscape (Rwanda, Uganda, and the DRC),as well as 45 delegates representing the Presidents' offices of the three countries, national park services, conservation NGOs, the Governor and Environment Minister of North Kivu Province, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP),the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the DRC (MONUC),and diplomats from donor countries. Assistant Secretary (A/S) OES Claudia McMurray co-chaired the event with Rwandan Minister of Trade and Industry, Monique Nsanzabaganwa, Ugandan Minister of State for Tourism, Wild-Life and Antiquities, Serapio Rukundo and DRC Secretary General for the Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Tourism, Dr. Abel Kalambai. -------------- Unique Biodiversity -------------- ¶3. (U) Conference delegates highlighted the unique nature of the Greater Virunga Landscape, which is home to 414 indigenous species including 43 percent of Africa,s birds, 27 percent of the continent's mammals, and the last remaining mountain gorilla populations on Earth. This rich biodiversity is threatened by growing demographic pressures; the region is among the poorest and most densely populated areas in Africa, with up to 1,070 inhabitants per square mile and average per capita income under $2 per day and pressures from more than 800,000 refugees. -------------- But Threatened by Humans -------------- ¶4. (U) Andrew Plumptre from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) told attendees that the Virunga forest is under attack from agricultural encroachment, poaching, harvesting of wood for charcoal, oil exploration and armed conflict. Plumptre asserted that conservation of the forest habitat in conjunction with tourism offered the highest value and most sustainable benefits to both governments and local communities. Plumptre estimated the revenue stream of the Virunga landscape from tourism and ecosystem values (such as QVirunga landscape from tourism and ecosystem values (such as biodiversity, carbon credits and soil fertility) at over $100 million annually. Delegates universally supported conservation efforts but also recognized conservation would fail if local communities did not benefit from tourism projects. Participants discussed current revenue sharing programs in the bordering parks and called for expanding these programs to ensure local communities inhabiting the landscape benefit from park revenues and become stakeholders in regional conservation and tourism. -------------- -------------- Could be "The Golden Goose" for the Region...if Protected -------------- -------------- KIGALI 00000499 002 OF 003 ¶5. (U) Both Uganda and Rwanda have experienced rapidly expanding revenues from tourism. Rosette Rugamba, Director General for Rwanda,s Office of Tourism and National Parks told delegates that tourism was Rwanda,s second highest foreign exchange earner for 2007, with revenues of $34 million (up from less than $1 million in 2001),and employed more than 252,000 Rwandans in the sector. The Ministers from Rwanda and Uganda urged increased investment in tourism infrastructure to facilitate further growth. Minister Rukundo (Uganda) noted that, despite its outstanding natural resources, the region is not capturing a proportionate share of the international tourism market as a result of inadequate tourism infrastructure. -------------- Armed Bands in the DRC Threaten Conservation -------------- ¶6. (U) In contrast to Rwanda and Uganda, the DRC has virtually no tourism revenue from Virunga National Park. Lack of security and the presence of armed groups in protected park areas have destroyed infrastructure, devastated wildlife and displaced local communities. Cosma Wilungla, Director of the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) explained that the Government of the DRC controls only 60 percent of protected park areas, while the remaining 40 percent is inaccessible to park rangers. The lack of security has made tourism development nearly impossible, he said. Large mammals have been devastated by the lack of security in the park. Cosma noted that in addition to the seven mountain gorillas killed in 2007, the population of hippos in the park has declined from 30,000 a few years ago to less than 500 today. ¶7. (U) Participants voiced unanimous concern about the destructive impact of armed groups in the protected areas of the DRC. A/S McMurray noted "it is vital to rid Virunga National Park of militia groups who threaten both people and wildlife. Without security, economic growth from tourism and other investment will not occur." The Governor of North Kivu DRC, Julien Paluku Kahongya echoed A/S McMurray's remarks, calling the destruction of protected areas in the DRC "environmental genocide." Nicholas Jenks from USAID provided delegates with an overview of security-related threats to the tri-national park system and on-going international peace efforts, and concluded "the threats to the Grand Virunga have at least some of their roots in the prevailing military situation." MONUC Civil Affairs Officer, Edem Blege added that "the region was paying the price in lost tourism revenue." -------------- Conservation Lobby Could Help Peace Process -------------- ¶8. (SBU) In a lunch meeting with A/S McMurray on July 17, Rwandan Secretary General for Internal Security, Ambassador Joseph Mutaboba, and Rwandan Director General of the National Security Service, Joseph Nzabamwita congratulated A/S McMurray for her initiative in bringing together the QMcMurray for her initiative in bringing together the ministers from the three countries, and expressed hope that the initiative would invigorate the ongoing Tripartite peace process (in the Eastern DRC). Nzabamwita noted that the involvement of new stakeholders on both sides of the border united for a neutral issue could un-block the Tripartite process which he asserted was at a "dead end." The Director General told A/S McMurray that civil society (including the NGO's participating in the conference) were the best organized and most effective lobby in the Eastern Congo, and that the issue of protection of the Virunga National Park could attract new international interest and energize support from UN organization such as UNESCO, UNEP and MONUC. The Rwandan officials were acutely aware of the parks, economic value, calling it their country's "gold mine," and were greatly concerned by the "spill-over" effects from the ongoing armed conflict in the DRC. Rwandan Secretary General of the Ministry of Finance, John Rwangombwa stated "anyone KIGALI 00000499 003 OF 003 who wants to think of investing in Rwanda also thinks of instability in the Congo." ¶9. (SBU) COMMENT: The conference outlined key challenges facing Rwanda, Uganda and the DRC in preserving the Greater Virunga Landscape, recognized the overriding economic value of the region for tourism and identified cooperative strategies for the governments to address these challenges. While the Ministerial Declaration, signed by ministers from all three countries, represented a significant step forward by forcefully calling on militant groups to leave park areas in the DRC, it is uncertain whether this will be just one more plea for peace or a more decisive move towards greater involvement by the international community in the peace process. What is clear from the conference is that environmental and wildlife protection in DRC is unlikely to succeed while armed groups continue to inhabit the Virunga National Park. SIM