Upemba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo is one of Africa’s most important protected areas. The 4500 square miles of habitat, including grasslands, wetlands, woodland and mountains, is home to exceptional biodiversity, including lions, elephants and DRC’s last remaining herd of zebras.
Wildlife has been in decline in recent years due to pressure from poaching, wildlife trafficking and illegal strip mining. In addition, the rangers working to protect the area and its iconic wildlife risk their lives every day, working in remote and often extreme environments with limited communication. As well as the risk of conflict with poachers, the volatile political situation in the country means they face the very real danger of the armed militia groups who are increasingly present in the area. Tragically, in recent years the park has suffered one of the highest numbers of ranger deaths; the majority being homicides by armed militia.
In 2022, we ran an appeal to raise funds to provide Upemba’s 247 strong ranger team with the technology to enable them to communicate whilst on patrol in this vast area which has no radio or telephone signal. The £10000 raised in the appeal enabled our on-the-ground partners, the Forgotten Parks Foundation, to provide the Upemba rangers with 13 GPS units, supporting software subscription and training. This equipment is a game changer for this ranger team, enabling them to communicate with each other whilst on patrol and, crucially, to call for help in an emergency.
Although this communication equipment has been a significant help to rangers, improving their own safety and the effectiveness of their patrols, the situation in DRC is still very challenging for those working in wildlife conservation. Tragically, the park has lost three more rangers in the past year, and we have been working to provide financial support to their families in this tragic and difficult time, as well as covering the cost of life and emergency evacuation insurance for all the frontline rangers.
