Virunga National Park is Africa’s oldest and first National Park founded in the year 1925 but due to years of instability this world heritage park is now at risk from chronic inatability.
Presently the southern sector and the middle sector are occupied by a regional militia known as the M23 and tensions are again beginning to simmer.
After having visited the park in the autumn of 2012 Green Heart Films was fortunate to visit the northern sector of Virunga and we were privileged to have had the opportunity to film this spectacular region.
Within the northern region we were to scale up to the Ruwenzori’s highest peak point Margherita Africa’s third highest mountain and from here we were to view Stanley’s glacier.
We were also privileged to have seen mountain gorillas – eastern low land gorillas and chimpanzees after which we were to travel onto Ishango perhaps the riches and most diverse avian region to be found anywhere on earth with over seven hundred species of birds.
Not far from Ishango we were to visit this regions last remaining elephants which now numbers only eight, which helps to demonstrate how fragile this magical biodiverse region truly is.
Lately oil and gas has been discovered under the waters of Lake Edward an area within the world heritage park and an international petroleum company is presently seeking the rights to exploit this valuable resource.
With activity’s such as illegal mining – charcoal burning and various militias vying for control of this parks resources Virunga increasingly appears to be in danger of being lost and if we as global citizens ignore these dangers the very survival of this spectacular world heritage site will remain at risk.
Green Heart Films has begun to collaborate with Ian Redmond who has narrated this documentary on the Virunga and Gearing UP For Gorillas {G4G} who have also assisted in helping to partly fund the film “Virunga – Earth Great Heritage” which we hope will raise funds for an educational center where local villagers can visit in order to learn more about the park potential benefits the center will also help to educate the youths of this region and also host foreign visitors who wish to visit the parks wildlife and also help save this extraordinary conservation region.
Biologist Ian Redmond has had an association with the Virunga for the last 35 years and has in the past worked tirelessly with primatologist Dianne Fossey in helping to save the mountain gorillas of the Virunga and has been a regular visitor and is deeply committed to the very survival of this conservation region.
Green Heart Films has chosen to join forces with Ian and G4G with the express objective of helping to raise funds for the construction of an education center which will in due course contribute to the educational needs of the local communities that live near this conservation region.
We are appealing for a budget of $88,000 please donate generously and make a difference in helping G4G raise the financial resources for the construction of the education center.
For further information please contact Ian Redmond OBE or linda@g4g.
For further information on this production please contact Green Heart Films.
Virunga Earth Great Heritage.
