Congo Rangers

Category: Rangers | Date: Aug 15 2006 | By: admin

The Congo Rangers are now equipped with the skills and capacity to carry out complex patrolling and law enforcement activities in even the most dangerous of areas.

A truck ambushed by Rwandan rebels in Virunga National Park in 2004. A key role for the Virunga Rangers is to restore peace and stability in and around the park

One such area is in the far north of the Virunga National Park where a recent WWF mission confirmed the presence of the Okapi, a rare Congolese forest giraffe. This part of the park has been out of ICCN control for more than 30 years due to the presence of NALU (a Ugandan rebel militia). It appears that the recent operations by the UN’s Peace Keeping Mission to dislodge the NALU have been successful and all known rebel camps have been destroyed. The ICCN needs to move fast nowto re-establish its authority over this area before the rebels move back into the park.

The Congo Rangers will try and bring the northern sector under real control for the first time in more than 30 years. The only rangers trained and equipped to carry out such a task are the rangers we trained at Ishango who have already proved themselves capable up in Garamba National Park. These rangers will carry out multiple sweeps of the area, a process that could take as long as six months depending on the number of poaching camps encountered. Once this sector has been secured, regular park rangers will be moved in and deployed at key strategic locations to ensure the long term protection of forest elephant and Okapi found within this critical zone. Over the coming months, the Congo Rangers will also be involved in further training and other capacity building activities, as well as carrying out interventions in other areas of the park where their skills and expertise may be required to support more general law enforcement efforts. There is much work to be done by these rangers and they will need to dominate the ground and be visible in their effectiveness if they are to make a difference in one of the most challenging environments on earth.