Introduction

Rwanda is one of the smallest countries in Africa, yet it has been highly publicized for the civil war and genocide that began nearly thirty years ago (Clay, 1998). Rwanda became one of the most densely populated African countries due to people flocking to the region for their once fertile soil (Kanyamibwa, 1998). Currently, over 90% of the population depends on the land for subsistence agriculture in Rwanda (Plumptre et al, 2001). The high density of people and the intensive use of the land are proving to be detrimental as the soil is being depleted of nutrients, no longer yielding sufficient crops. However, despite the high demand for land in Rwanda, the nation has managed to produce three major protected areas, one of which is the Volcanoes National Park (Parc National Des Volcans), the first national park to be created in Africa (Spinage, 1972).

Volcanoes National Park is home to the endangered Virunga mountain gorillas that live at altitudes ranging from 1500 to 4000 meters (IUCN, 2010).Figure 6 shows the “floral zones” at each montane level in Volcanoes National Park, where the gorillas inhabit the moist montane forest zone, bamboo zone, subalpine zone, and even the lowest parts of the alpine zone (Spinage, 1972). War and violence were occurring in Rwanda and the surrounding areas starting in the late 80s-early 90s, and although the Volcanoes National Park is a protected area, it was not exempt from violence between humans as guerilla soldiers set up camps there while the Rwandan Army tried to defend the park from poaching and deforestation (Plumptre et al, 2001). Even the gorillas were caught in the crossfire as many fell victim to increased poaching and accidentally stumbling upon land mines (Dudley, 2000).

The Virunga mountain gorillas of Volcanoes National Park are threatened by human presences because of the violence that occurs and because of the extremely high number of people surrounding the park that use the land for agriculture. Clearly seen in an image taken from a Landsat satellite, the national park has a clear border filled with lush green vegetation, while the surrounding areas are clearly sectioned and divided for agricultural uses (see image below).

War and social conflict is the number one cause of mountain gorilla endangerment because of the combined threats that come as a result of war. People at war poach for food and money, burn down acres of vegetation to prevent an enemy from using the land, set land mines, clear forests for roads all for the sake of winning, even if the consequences linger for decades. According to Samuel Kanyamibwa of the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, "the problem is crucial in less developed countries, particularly in Africa, where people are more dependent on natural resources, and where democratic conditions are not established" and this holds true for Rwanda where 90% of the people depend on the land and conflict for power is a major issue (Kanyamibwa, 1998).

These problems caused by war are not easily reversible and extremely hard to fix once the damage is done. Conserving what is left is key, especially for the mountain gorillas that inhabit an already limited area within the national park (see Weber Figure 2 below). For a nation like Rwanda who appreciated the rich abundance of biodiversity they had early on, the solution for maintaining conservation is to find social stability and good government leadership to find an end to all the conflict that is causing so many of the problems for the environment and the people. However, many argue that there are actually benefits to war in terms of conservation, but the negative consequences that come as a result are considered to far outweigh the benefits.