charcoal trade
Virunga National Park, located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is one of Africa’s most famous locations. It is the first national park to be established in Africa and is a bio-diverse ecosystem consisting of the world's many endangered species. However many of the attractions of this park are being devastated by the international charcoal trade in central African countries.
Since the charcoal trade requires wood for production, the charcoal trade has caused major deforestation in many areas, especially Virunga National Park. The country lost 14,331 square miles of forest between the years of 2000 to 2010 and deforestation is continuing at an approximate rate of 2.3%(Deforestation of Virunga weebly). Some people in the DRC are against the deforestation but many view charcoal as very necessary to their family’s survival. Fortunately, other people have found power alternatives to using charcoal but it is very difficult to convince charcoal producers and traders to stop cutting down trees.
Some think God put the trees on earth for people to use. Most simply don’t care because the charcoal trade makes them millions of dollars. In fact, behind the charcoal business, there are many supposed militias and terrorist groups that make an estimated $111million to $289million annually because of the charcoal trade. These groups make money by trafficking and taxing illegal and unregulated charcoal. These groups are suspected to also profit from poaching and many other illegal businesses thriving in other regions of Africa(UNEP.org).
Some think God put the trees on earth for people to use. Most simply don’t care because the charcoal trade makes them millions of dollars. In fact, behind the charcoal business, there are many supposed militias and terrorist groups that make an estimated $111million to $289million annually because of the charcoal trade. These groups make money by trafficking and taxing illegal and unregulated charcoal. These groups are suspected to also profit from poaching and many other illegal businesses thriving in other regions of Africa(UNEP.org).
Many of the charcoal traffickers come from Rwanda or other eastern countries, meaning they would have to cross many borders with their illegally obtained stock. It is said that all of the DRC borders are protected by the Congolese army. However, for a “small fee” soldiers let smugglers go about their way as if no one was guarding the borders. The soldiers are corrupt and accept bribes allowing the illegal charcoal to be transported. For these problems to begin to resolve, the Congolese army needs to enforce new environmental laws that prohibit any charcoal caravans from going in and out of the country without information to identify that their charcoal was obtained legally. The people of the DRC and Virunga national park have dispatched dedicated guards named the ICCN Rangers whose primary objective is to stop the illegal charcoal trade. Their jobs are dangerous because they encounter many imminent threats from hostile charcoal traders. The work of the ICCN guards is a big step forward in advancing the protection of the DRC from the charcoal trade, and many other important steps must be taken to protect and preserve Africa's first national park.(virunga.org).
(Charcoal Industry)
Works Cited
$213bn Illegal Wildlife and Charcoal Trade. Digital image. UNEP. 27 Jun. 2014. Web.
Charcoal Industry. Digital image. ICE. May 2007. Web.
"Deforestation of Virunga National Park." User of weebly.com. Deforestation of Virunga. weebly.
Weebly.com. 3 May 2015.
“UNEP News Center” Nairobi, UNEP editor. Illegal Trade in Wildlife and Timber Products Finances Criminal and Militia Groups,Threatening Security and Sustainable Development. unep.org . 24 June 2014. 2 May 2015.
"Virunga National Park" Cause Launch Creative. DEFORESTATION OF MOUNTAIN GORILLA HABITAT SLOWED – BUT NOT STOPPED. virunga.org. 2 May 2015.
Ready to end charcoal trade. Digital image. AFP. 8 Aug 2014. Web.
Charcoal Industry. Digital image. ICE. May 2007. Web.
"Deforestation of Virunga National Park." User of weebly.com. Deforestation of Virunga. weebly.
Weebly.com. 3 May 2015.
“UNEP News Center” Nairobi, UNEP editor. Illegal Trade in Wildlife and Timber Products Finances Criminal and Militia Groups,Threatening Security and Sustainable Development. unep.org . 24 June 2014. 2 May 2015.
"Virunga National Park" Cause Launch Creative. DEFORESTATION OF MOUNTAIN GORILLA HABITAT SLOWED – BUT NOT STOPPED. virunga.org. 2 May 2015.
Ready to end charcoal trade. Digital image. AFP. 8 Aug 2014. Web.