Touched by a Wild Mountain Gorilla

20 Years of IGCP: Balancing the needs of both gorillas and people

As part of our ongoing series celebrating the 20th anniversary of IGCP as a coalition of the African Wildlife Foundation, Fauna & Flora International, and the World Wide Fund for Nature, Anecto Kayitare, who spent nine years working with IGCP between 1999 to 2008, revisits his experience with the Susa group in... Read more »

Field Journal: Living the Bwindi Census

In what may be our longest blog post ever, here we present in its near entirety the field journal for Charles KAYIJAMAHE (pictured, right, during the census training), a student finishing his studies at the National University of Rwanda in Zoology and Conservation. The length is because it is impossible to cut out... Read more »

20 Years of IGCP: The first uncharted steps

A few weeks ago, the first ever regional forum for the Greater Virunga landscape was held in Kampala, Uganda. The forum was the collection of actors at all levels, from civil society to national government, from conservation organizations to diplomatic missions which fund, manage, and coordinate conservation and... Read more »

Second phase of the on-going Bwindi mountain gorilla census is complete

IGCP's species coordinator, Dr. Augustin Basabose is back to his base in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo after being part of the final training session for the census of Bwindi, as well as getting Team 2 started on data collection for phase 2. Phase 2 completed last weekend, and now we're in the final stretch of... Read more »

20 Years of IGCP: Nkuringo- Redefining management of land and tourism benefits to conserve mountain gorillas

Some of you may have seen the Nkuringo region of Bwindi recently profiled on the second episode of Earthrise, a series produced by Al Jazeera English. If you missed it, click here to watch the full episode. In this post as part of our series celebrating the 20 years of IGCP, Helga Rainer recounts and reflects on... Read more »

20 Years of IGCP: Reflection on Post-Genocide Conservation in Rwanda ’95-‘97

This post was written by Katie Frohardt (pictured above), IGCP's Rwanda Director from mid-1995 until mid-1997. This reflection was written in honor of IGCP’s 20th Anniversary this year, 2011. She is currently the Executive Director of Fauna & Flora International in the US and has served as the FFI... Read more »

Post Conflict Conservation: A student’s perspective

How can you justify conserving a wildlife species while there are people suffering? This is just one of the questions that Richard Milburn faced from others (and himself) as he set out to explore the role of conservation in a conflict or post conflict environment using the Virunga Massif as a case study. What follows... Read more »

Cleaning Volcanoes National Park: Removing remnants from the past

Over a hundred sacks of trash- discarded tins of tomato paste, sacks, clothes, and more- were removed from Volcanoes National Park in just two days of a renewed effort by IGCP to clean the park of waste and exotic plant species left by people. What follows is a post written by IGCP's Conservation Incentives Officer... Read more »

Latest news & posts
  • Rwanda increases the price of a mountain gorilla permit

    Rwanda increases the price of a mountain gorilla permit

    In an announcement made today, the Rwanda Development Board has raised the price of a permit issued to experience mountain gorillas in Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park from 500 USD to 750 USD for foreign nationals...

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    Touched by a Wild Mountain Gorilla

    Touched by a Wild Mountain Gorilla

    I’ll admit it, we all crave it, even those of us working in mountain gorilla conservation- direct physical contact with mountain gorillas. Katie Frohardt wrote about her impulse to touch a mountain gorilla in her...

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    IGCP Launches Rainwater Harvesting Campaign in DRC

    IGCP Launches Rainwater Harvesting Campaign in DRC

    Perusi Florence and her brother Tuyambaze will start the year 2012 with a burden relieved. They will no longer walk an hour to fetch water every morning. They will no longer have to pay 2,000 Uganda Shillings (the...

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    20 Years of IGCP: Humanism in wildlife conservation

    20 Years of IGCP: Humanism in wildlife conservation

    If I've learned anything in my short time with the multi-lingual IGCP it is that many things, like meaning and intent, can get lost in translation. That is why I am leaving this testimony by Paulin Wilondja-As-Ngobobo,...

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  • Putting Herself Out There: Harriet’s Bwindi experience

    Putting Herself Out There: Harriet’s Bwindi experience

    When we checked in on progress of the Bwindi census in September, we met Harriet Kyakyo, a volunteer with the Uganda Wildlife Authority and the only woman participating in the census as a team member. She ended up...

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    From Virunga (Central Africa) to Ometepe Island (Central America), Part 1

    From Virunga (Central Africa) to Ometepe Island (Central America), Part 1

    Eugène Rutagarama here, Director of the International Gorilla Conservation Programme. And the first thing I should do is explain where 'here' is. I am writing these line sitting at the balcony of Punta Theonoste, a...

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    Integrated efforts in Enterprise, Environment and Equity

    Integrated efforts in Enterprise, Environment and Equity

    Fact: The plight of mountain gorillas cannot be separated from the plight of people. Human population densities in the mountain gorilla region can touch in some areas to 1,000 people per square kilometer (note, that's...

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    20 Years of IGCP: A Love Story – Twice Over

    20 Years of IGCP: A Love Story – Twice Over

    In this tribute to the 20 years of IGCP as a coalition of the African Wildlife Foundation, Fauna & Flora International, and the World Wide Fund for Nature, Rebecca Lomax-Sumner describes a life-changing visit to...

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