Democratic Republic of the Congo
Province of North-Kivu and Orientale province
N0 55 0 E29 10 0
Date of Inscription: 1979
Criteria: (vii)(viii)(x)
Property : 800,000 ha
Ref: 63
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Virunga National Park (covering an area of 790,000 ha) comprises an outstanding diversity of habitats, ranging from swamps and steppes to the snowfields of Rwenzori at an altitude of over 5,000 m, and from lava plains to the savannahs on the slopes of volcanoes. Mountain gorillas are found in the park, some 20,000 hippopotamuses live in the rivers and birds from Siberia spend the winter there.
Virunga National Park is unique with its active chain of volcanoes and rich diversity of habitats that surpass those of any other African park. Its range contains an amalgamation of steppes, savannas and plains, marshlands, low altitude and afro-montane forest belts to unique afro-alpine vegetation and permanent glaciers and snow on Monts Rwenzori whose peaks culminate in 5000 m height. The property includes the spectacular massifs of Rwenzori and Virunga Mountains containing the two most active volcanoes of Africa. The wide diversity of habitats produces exceptional biodiversity, notably endemic species and rare and globally threatened species such as the mountain gorilla.
Criterion (vii): Virunga National Park offers the most spectacular montane landscapes in Africa. Mt Rwenzori with its jagged reliefs and snowy summits, their cliffs and steep valleys, and the volcanoes of the Virunga massif covered with an afro-alpine vegetation of tree ferns and Lobelia and their slopes covered by dense forests, are the places of exceptional natural beauty. The volcanoes, which erupt at regular intervals every few years, constitute the dominant land features of the outstanding landscape. The Park presents several other spectacular panoramas like the eroded valleys in the Sinda and Ishango regions. The Park also contains important concentrations of wildlife, notably elephants, buffalo and Thomas cobs, and the largest concentration of hippopotamuses in Africa, with 20,000 individuals living on the banks of Lake Edward and along the Rwindi, Rutshuru and Semliki Rivers.
Criterion (viii): Virunga National Park is located in the centre of the Albertine Rift, of the Great Rift Valley. In the southern part of the Park, tectonic activity due to the extension of the earth’s crust in this region has caused the emergence of the Virunga massif, comprising eight volcanoes, seven of which are located, totally or partially, in the Park. Among them, are the two most active volcanoes of Africa – Nyamuragira and nearby Nyiragongo – which between them are responsible for two-fifths of the historic volcanic eruptions on the African continent and which are characterized by the extreme fluidity of the alkaline lava. The activity of Nyiragongo is of world importance as a witness to volcanism of a lava lake: the bottom of its crater is in fact filled by a lake of quasi permanent lava that empties periodically with catastrophic consequences for the local communities. The northern sector of the Park includes about 20% of the massif of Monts Rwenzori – the largest glacial region of Africa and the only true alpine mountain chain of the continent. It borders the Rwenzori Mountains National Park of Uganda, inscribed as World Heritage, with which it shares the ‘Pic Marguerite’, third highest summit of Africa (5,109 m).
Criterion (x): Due to its variations in altitude (from 680 m to 5,109 m), rainfall and nature of the ground, Virunga National Park possesses a very wide diversity of plants and habitats, making it the top African National Park for biological diversity. More than 2,000 premier plant species have been identified, of which 10% are endemic to the Albertine Rift. The afro-montane forests represent about 15% of the vegetation. The Rift Albertine also contains more endemic vertebrate species than any other region of the African continent and the Park possesses numerous examples of them. The Park contains 218 mammal species, 706 bird species, 109 reptile species and 78 amphibian species. It also serves as refuge to 22 primate species of which three are the great ape – mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei), the eastern plain gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri) and the eastern chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthi), with a third of the world population of mountain gorillas. The savannah zones of the Park contain a diverse population of ungulates and the density of biomass of wildlife is one of the highest on the earth Planet (27.6 ton/km2). Among the ungulates, there are certain rare animals such as the okapi (Okapi johnstoni), endemic to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the red forest duiker (Cephalophus rubidus), endemic to Monts Rwenzori. The Park also comprises important tropical zones essential for the wintering of Palearctic avifauna.
Suggested bases:
Oicha is a city in North Kivu Province, in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. and has been built around a mission hospital which has been opened in the year 1935. 1964 at an intermission medical conference has been held at Oicha Hospital. In August 2018 the ebola outbreak in the Kivu province reached the city and vaccinations have been started by health organizations, led by WHO and supported by the MONUSCO mission by the United Nations [read more].
Butembo is a city in North Kivu, in the north eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, lying west of the Virunga National Park. The city is an important commercial centre with large markets, a cathedral, multiple large hospitals, and an airport. The city is located in a region known for tea and coffee growing. As of 2013 it had an estimated population of 670,285, making it the second largest city in North Kivu. Butembo is 90% populated by the Nande tribe, a community distinguished by ethnic solidarity, conservative moral standards and influential leaders. The city is home to the 2nd Integrated Brigade of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Institut Kambali, founded in 1959, the Université catholique du Graben [fr] (UCG), founded in 1989, and the Adventist University of Lukanga (UNILUK), founded in 1979. Ebola broke out in August 2018 in North Kivu province. A series of attacks on Ebola treatment centers in Butembo led up to the death of a policeman in March 2019 and of a doctor in April 2019 [read more].
Bunia is the capital city of Ituri Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It was part of the Orientale Province until that province’s dissolution. It lies at an elevation of 1275 m on a plateau about 30 km west of Lake Albert in the Albertine Rift, and about 25 km east of the Ituri Forest. The city is at the center of the Ituri conflict between the Lendu and Hema. In the Second Congo War the city and district were the scene of much fighting and many civilian deaths from this conflict, and related clashes between militias and Uganda-based forces. Consequently, the city is the base of one of the largest United Nations peace-keeping forces in Africa, and its headquarters in northeastern DRC. The area’s natural resources include gold mines over which militias and foreign forces have been fighting. The main dirt highways connecting north-eastern DR Congo with Kisangani to the west and Butembo and Goma to the south pass through Bunia, but have fallen into disrepair and are virtually impassable, especially after the frequent rains [read more].
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