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Congo guerillas threaten to kill rare gorillas mongabay.com May 21, 2007
Reuters reports that Sunday three wildlife workers were injured and one was killed in attacks by Mai Mai rebels who seized communications equipment and arms from park facilities. Park guards in the region—Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda—are generally armed to protect themselves and tourists from militias. The Mai Mai, who have a record of slaughtering wildlife and murdering civilians, said they would kill all the gorillas in the area if wildlife officials retaliate for the attack. In making the threats, the group appears to be reneging on agreement they made earlier this year in which they said they would not harm the park's gorillas.
Violence aside, gorillas are Virunga's most famous residents. The park, which sits near the border with Rwanda, supports 380 of the world's remaining 700 mountain gorillas. Another 340 mountain gorillas are found in neighboring Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. While there have long been conflicts between local people and conservationists, some scientists point to Rwanda and Uganda as examples of conservation efforts that bring benefits to the local economy. At Bwindi well-trained guides lead small and carefully supervised groups of tourists who pay more than $300 each for a permit to see the gorillas. The efforts have provided some compensation for communities around the park who have had to give up their right to cut timber and harvest game from the protected forest.
Related articles 16 cities to get energy-saving retrofits (5/17/2007) Sixteen cities will get financing to make buildings "greener" through environmental renovations, former President Clinton announced Wednesday at the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit in New York, where mayors and local government officials are meeting to discuss strategies to flight global warming. The green building initiatives will cut carbon emissions and reduce waste. Cost of stabilizing climate 0.1% per year (5/4/2007) The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its long awaiting installment on climate change mitigation, arguing that the costs of offsetting global warming will be much lower than some claim. The IPCC estimates that emissions can be reduced rapidly using existing technology at a cost of 3 percent of GDP, or 0.12 percent per year over the next 25 years, though new technologies could further reduce this cost. While the projections are encouraging, they may be conservative. Some analysts, including the well-respected Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute, have calculated that emissions targets that would stabilize the climate could be achieved at no net cost and possibly even a profit. Even McKinsey & Company, a leading management consulting firm, agrees, putting the net cost of reducing emissions by 46 percent at zero. To fight warming, Canada will ban incandescent light bulbs by 2012 (4/25/2007) In an effort to fight greenhouse gas emissions, Canada plans to ban use of incandescent light bulbs by 2012, said Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn. Canada follows Australia as the second country to announce a ban on the inefficient bulbs. California legislators have proposed a similar ban for 2012. U.S. can cut oil imports to zero by 2040, use to zero by 2050 (3/29/2007) The United States could dramatically cut oil usage over the next 20-30 years at low to no net cost, said Amory B. Lovins, cofounder and CEO of the Colorado-based Rocky Mountain Institute, speaking at Stanford University Wednesday night for a week-long evening series of lectures sponsored by Mineral Acquisition Partners, Inc. Efficiency improvements could cut global energy demand significantly (11/29/2006) Growth in global energy consumption could be reduced by more than two-thirds over the next 15 years through energy efficiency efforts according to a study released Wednesday by the McKinsey Global Institute. Comments? News options Liquid error: Template not found languages/english/includes/x/_43.liquid SHARE THIS ARTICLE:
Tags: hunting poaching congo democratic republic of congo africa central africa apes mammals primates conservation gorillas protected areas environment green
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