14 DAY TRIAL // Earlier today, environmental group the World Wildlife Fund announced that the current chief warden of the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo had been shot.
On its website, the organization details that Emmanuel de Merode was ambushed while on his way from the city of Goma to the headquarters of the Virunga National Park.
Information shared with the public says that the conservationist is now hospitalized, and that his condition is serious, but stable. However, no further details have until now been provided.
Thus, it is unclear who the people who attacked Emmanuel de Merode were and what they might have been after, and if perhaps anybody else was injured during the ambush.
“Virunga National Park’s Chief Warden, Emmanuel de Merode, was shot today in an ambush on the road from Goma to Rumangabo. He is in serious but stable condition. No further details are available on the attack at the present time,” a statement on the matter at hand reads.
The World Wildlife Fund hopes that the chief warden of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Virunga National Park will manage to pull through, and that he will eventually make a full recovery.
“Emmanuel is a dedicated conservationist putting his life on the line every day to protect Virunga National Park, its rangers, its endangered species and the people that depend on the park for their livelihoods,” conservationist Lasse Gustavsson commented on this incident.
“I know how much Emmanuel loves this park. He continues to be a source of inspiration to those around him and I wish him a swift recovery,” the Executive Director of Conservation for the World Wildlife Fund International added.
As reported on several occasions, the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the world's most biodiverse protected regions. It is listed as a World Heritage Site, and it happens to be Africa's oldest national park.
The trouble is that, despite significant opposition, London-based oil and gas company Soco International PLC. wishes to explore, maybe even exploit this region. Specifically, the international oil and gas company is now looking to carry out seismic surveys in the park's Lake Edward.
Locals and conservationists alike are not in the least thrilled about these plans, and maintain that, given the region's biodiversity and the fact that it is now listed as a World Heritage Site, Soco International PLC. would do well to keep out of this protected area.