Date: 10/1/207

To: The Department of Wildlife and Conservation

From: Alan Odor (Spokesperson of the African Wildlife Association)
Subject: There is an uneven growth of critically endangered mountain gorillas a drastic
corrective change must take place here in Africa

Summery
As a member of the Wildlife Association, I feel that it is my duty to do everything I can do to
conserve the integrity of the wildlife. It has come to my attention that there have been alarming
rates of which mountain gorillas are dying. There are many things that can attribute to why this
may be happening. Unlike the more common lowland gorillas of western Africa, which tend to
be solitary, the mountain gorillas generally live in harmonious groups. They make their home in
the few remaining mountain forests of central Africa, at altitudes ranging between 8,000 and
10,000 feet. As humans have moved into areas near mountain gorillas, they have cleared land for
agriculture and livestock. Even land within protected areas is not safe from clearing in 2004, for
example, illegal settlers cleared 3,700 acres of gorilla forest in Virunga National Park. Unlike the
lowland gorillas, which survive in zoos, the mountain gorillas have always died early if taken
into captivity. Therefore, I believe that there is no place for mountain gorillas in the zoo.

According to the article, Genetic census reveals increased but uneven growth of a critically
endangered mountain gorilla population which is written by Maryke Gray et al. They brought to
attention the alarming rates upon mountain gorillas can eventually become extinct. They also
explained that, Monitoring changes in the population dynamics of endangered species is crucial
to effective conservation strategies. The mountain gorilla population of the Virunga Massif has
been the subject of intensive conservation efforts, research and several censuses over the last 40
years, but the region has also been affected by political instability and war (Gray et al pg 245).
Conservation strategies is something that I feel that we need to defiantly sit down and talk about.
In the past two decades, there have been a serious decrease in the population of out mountain
gorillas, therefore I am willing to sit down and talk about some immediate conservation
strategies. There are also other very important factors that are contributing to the population of
mountain gorillas to go up and down. One of them are diseases from human contact. Gorillas that
meet humans can be vulnerable to human diseases, which gorillas experience in more severe
forms. Mountain gorillas can even die from the common cold. However, studies have found that
mountain gorillas that are regularly habituated with researchers and tourists have survived better
than unvisited gorillas; they benefit from the greater protection available in those areas and from
regular monitoring. Increased survival is also largely due to better veterinary care of sick and
injured gorillas.

Discussion
There have also been some positive results in the past when the conservations of mountain
gorillas were don successfully. According to the scholarly written article called, Extreme
Conservation Leads to Recovery of the Virunga Mountain Gorillas, they spoke extensively
regarding the positive outcome of properly conserving wildlife and particularly mountain
gorillas. The collective writers of the article stated that, While the need to show the impact of

different conservation strategies is increasingly recognized, such analyses are often difficult or
impossible due to a lack of data to assess trends in population dynamics under different
conservation regimes and ecological conditions. In many cases, simply getting an accurate
assessment of population sizes may be difficult, even for large, terrestrial megafauna that capture
the publics attention and serve as flagship species for conservation (Robbins et al). The task of
properly conserving the wildlife of gorillas is not an easy task, but it is proven that it can be done
efficiently and rapidly if need be. Conventional conservation measures such as law enforcement
and community development projects are typically designed to minimize negative human
influences upon a species and its ecosystem. In contrast, we define extreme conservation as
efforts targeted to deliberately increase positive human influences, including the detection and
veterinary treatment of potentially life-threatening conditions and close surveillance of individual
animals (Robbins et al).

What needs to be done to conserve our mountain gorillas

Inside gorilla habitat in Virunga National Park, people harvest charcoal for use as a fuel source in
cooking and heating. This charcoal production an illegal, multi-million-dollar industry has
destroyed gorilla habitat. There has been another concern from the World Wildlife Fund about
plans by the UK based Soco International to carry out exploration for oil in the park. Currently
more than 80% of Virunga National Park has been allocated as oil concessions. Those concerns
have been acknowledged and met by us at the Department of Wildlife Conservation. A call into
action needs to be done to save our mountain gorillas here in Africa. We need to start by saving
our natural rain forest here in Africa. Virunga National Park is first national park that ever
existed here in Africa. The park was brought to be specifically for protecting our mountain
gorillas. Fortunately, I have gone great lengths to research different tactics that can be done to
further our cause in conserving our mountain gorillas and preserving our natural rainforest.

According to the scholarly written article, Money for Nothing? A Call for Empirical Evaluation
of Biodiversity Conservation Investments written by Paul J Ferraro and Subhrendu K
Pattanayak, they also feel that there needs to be an evaluation on biodiversity on conservation
investments. They believe that, If we want to ensure that our limited resources make a
difference, we must accept that testing hypotheses about what policies protect biological
diversity requires the same scientific rigor and state-of-the-art methods that we invest in testing
ecological hypotheses. Our understanding of the ecological aspects of ecosystem conservation
rests, in part, on well-designed empirical studies. In contrast, our understanding of the way in
which policies can prevent species loss and ecosystem degradation rests primarily on case-study
narratives from field initiatives that are not designed to answer the question, Does the
intervention work better than no intervention at all (Ferraro and Pattanayak)? I order for us to
fix this problem we must understand the which policies can prevent use from losing species of
gorillas. We should be evaluating programs at a more of a fundamental level to find out whether,
for example, conservation education workshops change behaviors that affect biodiversity. The
focus must shift from inputs (e.g., investment dollars) and outputs (e.g., training) to
outcomes produced directly because of conservation investments (e.g., species and habitats). I
personally feel there needs to be more of an investment on security for the park. They have to
constantly deal with poaching targeting the mountain gorillas for financial gain. Poaching of
these apes for food (bushmeat), medicine and trophies is currently probably the most serious
threat faced by gorillas. It is very sad to say that gorillas are killed for no apparent reason, with
the bodies left at the scene or poachers would just take the bodies and sell. Conservationists call
such murders executions and consider such incidents as attempts to crush conservation efforts
in the region. With such a small number of mountain gorillas left, it will be very difficult to
ensure their survival and thriving for the future. There are many serious threats these animals
must deal with daily. It is very unlikely that these threats can be eliminated within a year or two.
Many people now admit that, to achieve success in any future conservation efforts, program
implementers will have to consider all the stakeholders involved, including both animals and
humans. Humans are living in very close proximity to gorillas, are very important to the
conservation success. Most of them have no choice but to widely use rainforest resources in an
unsustainable manner. Thats an issue that I feel must be rectified as soon as possible. If we can
find a way to eliminate these threats within the next one or two years, we would take a giant step
upon fixing the population of mountain gorillas her in Africa.

The conservation of mountain gorillas can bring peace to the region

The conservation of our mountain gorilla would bring a huge benefit financially to the region.
Study shows that it has brought peace in post-conflict Rwanda. That theory was explained in an
article called, Mountain gorilla tourism generating wealth and peace in post-conflict Rwanda.
The writers of that article are Miko Maekawa, Annette Lanjouw, Eugene Rutagarama, and
Douglas Sharp. They stated that, Nature-based tourism uses natural resources in a wild or
undeveloped form which include species, habitat, landscape, scenery and salt and fresh-water
features. Nature tourism is travel for enjoying undeveloped natural areas or wildlife. Naturebased
tourism can also provide economic viability for biodiversity conservation and raise public
awareness through environmental education (Maekawa et al). It is believed that in Rwanda,
tourism has been used effectively as a vehicle for conservation but it has to be done right. The
wildlife and the mountain gorillas must be respected. Rwanda and Uganda have each employed
a mix of strategies combining pricing and market focus, international outreach, and tourism
sector reform. Market focus is a key distinction between nature-based tourism and mass tourism
(Maekawa et al).

Conclusion
I feel that it is my duty to do everything I can do to conserve the integrity of the wildlife. It is
very sad to say that there have been alarming rates of which mountain gorillas are dying. If there
is anything that we as a people can do to rectify this situation, I believe that we need to do
something as soon as possible. We need to take control of our rain forest and the habitat that
lives among us. Unlike the more common lowland gorillas of western Africa, which tend to be
solitary, the mountain gorillas generally live in harmonious groups. Therefore, I will continue
studying other ways we can conserve these precious animals and I will always fight for the
preservation of this national rain forest.
 Work cited
Gray, Maryke, Justin Roy, Linda Vigilant, Katie Fawcett, Augustin Basabose, Mike Cranfield,
Prosper Uwingeli, Innocent Mburanumwe, Edwin Kagoda, and Martha M. Robbins.
"Genetic Census Reveals Increased but Uneven Growth of a Critically Endangered
Mountain Gorilla Population." Biological Conservation. 158 (2013): 230-238. Print.
Robbins, MM, M Gray, KA Fawcett, FB Nutter, P Uwingeli, I Mburanumwe, E Kagoda, A
Basabose, TS Stoinski, MR Cranfield, J Byamukama, LH Spelman, and AM Robbins.
"Extreme Conservation Leads to Recovery of the Virunga Mountain Gorillas." Plos One.
6.6 (2011). Print.
Ferraro, Paul J, and Subhrendu K. Pattanayak. "Money for Nothing? a Call for Empirical
Evaluation of Biodiversity Conservation Investments." Plos Biology. 4.4 (2006). Print.
Maekawa, M., Lanjouw, A., Rutagarama, E. and Sharp, D. (2013), Mountain gorilla tourism
generating wealth and peace in post-conflict Rwanda. Nat Resour Forum, 37: 127137.
Tumusiime, D.M, and H Svarstad. "A Local Counter-Narrative on the Conservation of Mountain
Gorillas." Forum for Development Studies. 38.3 (2011): 239-265. Print.