Africa on the moon. Stories about people making a difference in shaping their nation. And their continent africa on the move stories about to move a vision of change makers taking their destinies into their own hands. D. W. Multimedia series from africa. D w dot com africa. The last gorillas of the room africas Oldest National park because of its immense riches its also the most endangered. In april twenty twelve wolf once again flared up in north kivu in the eastern democratic republic of congo a rebel group the m twenty three took control of the region including covering up a park in. Yet another episode in whats often been called the forgotten war in the country. It is claimed six million lives in twenty years. Suddenly we heard shots. Really ran away and the villagers being shot. They killed my husband and my parents in law all. The treasures of the congo are occurring. At the heart of the seemingly endless war other regions extensive resources its forests lakes and soils are systematically plundered to finance the slaughter. Supermom where mining town here is that dangerous. Yes we could die here and if we survive theres still the minerals from. What should be a blessing is a curse here in the virunga region its vast Mineral Wealth has plunged the population into extreme poverty. Research it gets to be seen. The civil war is driven by ok on the currency. Its closely intertwined with the illegal exploitation of Natural Resources. And the worlds poorest have to pay the price but this environmental destruction just goes on. In the us is the director of the National Park he and his ranges want to break the vicious cycle of Over Exploitation and war. In the forests of room on Mountain Iraq angle they risk their lives to restore the last bond between humans and nature. Is a jewel of nature it was founded in one Nine Hundred Twenty Five with the aim of protecting the Mountain Gorilla Population but walls and insurgencies are destroying the regions ecosystem. Right. Zero six by. The dozens of groups who Roam The Park pose a permanent danger says a man who admitted. In the Southern Sector in the forest areas near the city of goma that over a Million People eat firewood. Its controlled Timber Production which is now done on an almost industrial scale. Its mainly the f. B. I. The Democratic Forces for the liberation of rwanda theyre considered the perpetrators of the genocide that. Then there are the regional my my militia groups no. Here they are the main course behind Illegal Fishing they make a fortune with it. There is also the a. T. F. Now do a ugandan rep agrippa that is murdered over one thousand civilians in the last year and a half. Here in the middle of the danger zone so to speak in the last year they have been countless attacks weve lost five rangers here. Is home to the headquarters of the parks Southern Sector which is where the guerrillas live. Every time the rangers go patrol they risk confrontation with militias the six hundred ranges to find Eight Thousand square kilometers of forest Three Hundred kilometers from north to south an area about the size of. The fighting on two fronts not only do they have to drive the troops out of the park they also have to keep the local population out. Our mission is to protect the system. We have chosen this work and were ready to give our lives to save the Mountain Gorillas from extinction. Many of our colleagues have died doing their jobs i tell my men to be proud of their work as rangers of your anger National Park. If you think of that that that if it. Were. A could into United Nations estimates the virunga National Park ranges are up against five to Eight Thousand heavily Armed Militia Men And Army of different rebel groups all with the same goal the illegal extraction over all materials. The ranges of the last line of defense protecting nature and often deadly position. When The Civil War was raging here there were dangers looking everywhere for the rangers. About One Hundred Forty of our men lost their lives protecting the ecosystem. Something will stop. In fact in twenty years of civil war a total of One Hundred And Fifty rangers have been killed the highest bloodshed ever to occur in protecting in the nature of his a the militias in the area where the guerrillas live mainly control the illegal timber trade and poaching. In light of the ten Security Situation in the new end of mcleod made a radical decision he has his ranges undergo combat training. So i guess well this girl not just focusing six you know ok. Here in the room Nature Conservation is more like a military operation. The rangers are trained by Former Belton and french elite soltis. Twenty six her own accord there are problems and also at the moment the central sector is most affected. These are the Militias Facilities the heavily armored. Humvee an army. Here the recruiting new soldiers on. The Parks Technology has been upgraded so the area can be monitored more efficiently every yunis and every operation is coordinated in real time. The seat Illegal Fishing on lake edward that generates an annual turnover of around forty two Million Dollars africa shadowing legal logging in the south of the park which is destroying more and more Virgin Forests Kegs which has an annual turnover of thirty four Million Dollars. Dollars forty now so lots of money is involved were talking about over one hundred Million Dollars a year and enough to maintain these private armies these come back to groups and militias who are responsible for the desolate situation in the eastern Democratic Republic Of Congo Yes and second i know why i left and they are. Look. I think the illegal trade in charcoal feeds the entire province of north kivu its the feel of war. Eleven Million People depend on it some Three Hundred thousand tons are illegally produced here every year. This is how the black gold is made. We will force you to do it we lay a new fire to make charcoal. Feel can only be long well move. To an opportunity i even first we cover it with leaves. And then seen it tightly with mud. So that the leaves dont catch fire. The wood should burn very slowly. While. We use it to buy salt clothes or oil we pay the school fees for the children. Everything with money from the charcoal the mccollum. To say. My Beautiful Run we bring the cold sharks to the wholesale markets and saki and go home. When i do a book. The color is transported to the cities by bicycle or On Trucks Steep Population Growth has led to soaring demand for charcoal. In north kivu ninety seven percent of people live without Electricity Coal is their only source of energy. In goma the capital of north kivu the streets are black with search. This huge cold is run by Cecile Couple who will. Stand mccallum because theres no electricity here and tell me you have only one option charcoal in goma and in the rest of congo. Who label everywhere heat and coke with macand. I begin to meet one of your frying meats or cooking beings a cone you need. Coal is the only fuel source in our everyday lives ritual pool we all depend on my car. My site also has more than a million inhabitants who get Three Hundred and fifty to two hundred truckloads of mccalla every day. There are between A Hundred Forty and two hundred bags on each truck. Thats thousands of felled trees every day none of them from the room or Park Supposedly. Garner from the National Park is very rare in the past f. T. L. Are Militia Soldiers supplied us with charcoal from virunga park. But if we get caught selling them a card today we go to jail for years. But the fact is the illegal Charcoal Trade is impossible to control and its destroying the park. If it goes unchecked there will be no forests left in Eastern Congo in less than ten years. Thats why part Director Money where the mojados top priority is to develop Alternative Energy sources. He wants to use the Launch Ridges in the ring to supply the province of north kivu with electricity. A first hydroelectric power plant was completed last year in the taping. Much of it never was on pretty much just the beginning so far the power plant has been producing thirteen megawatts but with a bit of luck well reach one hundred megawatts in five years watts to five hundred megawatts is twice rwandas total Energy Production and twenty five times the amount of electricity currently supplying the city of goma so i dont think you get the point could make an enormous contribution to the Energy Supply and the profits. For each of them explicitly. To the really natural event by building a new Energy Economy that doesnt depend on the need to exploitation of Natural Resources were cutting off the source of money on groups that we dont have and secondly we offer alternative employment to the young men who would otherwise join these groups ive seen no. Doubt made. An ambitious project for a region like north kivu. The park is pushing the twenty Million Dollar cost with money donated from foundations. Him anywhere that believes its worth it and argues that in the long term Alternative Energy will create up to One Hundred Thousand jobs he wants to prove to the locals that protecting nature is more profitable than destroying it. More and more households throughout north kivu are now connected to the red tape a power plant. But where they get their energy from is not necessarily the populations first concern farmers are desperately looking for new arab a land food has priority. Conflicts on the edges of the Conservation Zone are multiplying the rumor has already lost Tens Of Thousands of hectares of land here in Ritchie Route Farmers are challenging the current boundaries of the park. The father going to we are a thousand metres away from the National Park. In other words the border of the Park Supposedly runs a thousand meters from the flood but its moved five hundred metres closer. And now the locals in the park and ministration are arguing about it still. A loss for the. Beautiful animals and we want them to be protected the environment must also be protected but not at the expense of the people who live here so. The National Park conflict with the one of the emanuel demo is trying to negotiate with the people his rangers have to protect the park but they must also understand that we. Are no want to put the. If you let my kids eat up with less leverage with some animals come out of the forest and destroy our fields so what about our interests version with of of us are going to quit meeting the animals with our harvest if only there were at least Development Projects here if only areas were cleared for roads and fields and schools built for our children. Or. For the locals the National Park means less income a congolese family can make One Thousand Dollars a year with one hector of arable land there one million hectares of protected land in the reset. The Park Administration is aware of the problem. Dont get to three many to be pretty easy to go for us to continue having these to Relisten Elephants the local population loses out on more than A Billion Dollars a year. Thats a high price and its not fair. Its a city natures peace deal but we have to find a solution of the park is the survivor thats true because in the end its up to the locals and their Point Of View is understand the political point. That the families have to make a living somehow knew that they need a future. So if we want the park to continue we need an alternative that generates at least A Billion Dollars a year. And we cant do that alone. It took so long before you get to sell. The park director has formed partnerships with public and private donors and investors the e. U. Has awarded to the room to park Fifteen Million euros. Scale project called Eco Mccullough has also been launched to cultivate Sustainable Resources here on the edges of the protected area. Fast growing Eucalyptus Trees have been planted on Eleven Thousand hectares of land in a project designed to conserve the forests in the reserve and also to help the locals. The premier is the project has two aspects first it converts the poverty of the local population to newly planted trees provide Small Farmers with an income but the bizarre bit of blunt the. Secondly the eco mccollough projects Reforestation Effort protects the people here from the threat of armed groups lurking in the jungle. You saw it here but. No money then money. Its much better to work on this plantation its too dangerous in the park that does it one hand out how many women and young girls have to go there every day some raid others even killed now and you know i know why our ive been spared that fate a man i mean im lucky enough to manage this little piece of forest the two of you need the new crop. You not touch wood make my karma and i can feed my family you know. Bus. Those who do not have their own plot of land continue to collect wood on the edge of the park. Almost four Million People live in less than a days walk from the room and they all help themselves a small bundle of brushwood provides what they need for daily survival. That live after that. I know its forbidden to cut wood near the park but what should i do. Either that or i cant give my children anything to eat today. The brushwood earns me five hundred congolese francs and i buy Sweet Potatoes with it its not much but Everything Else is too expensive for us. As they are one manly. Thing an income this way puts the Women In Great Danger Thousands Of Armed Men Roam the reserve and here at the edge of the forest women are easy prey. You know if you know that my world that. We come here with fear in our hearts. And we work fast so we went to be raped. They catch you. Until my life is broken. He cant tell anyone you must live alone with your suffering. Daily life is fraught with risk here in the ring. To locals the National Park is both a vital resource and a looming threat. To. Environmental conservation is a constant challenge in the democratic republic of congo. The park rangers face a moral dilemma should they protect people. Or nature. To my sister if you dont go on the slopes of the wrong as volcanoes including in rwanda and uganda there were only Eight Hundred Eighty Mountain Gorillas left and they need protection you just put this you see theyre threatened with extinction just Eight Hundred Eighty Mountain Gorillas on our huge continent and only three countries congo uganda and rwanda its a city on the ground for being studied little or no gun. A little under. That based on democracy Population Growth is threatening the grill is natural habitat. Skill level just people here in need fertile farmland and the park is the only place where they can find it get it back. And back thats why they destroy the gorillas habitat they need fertile farmland. In fifteen. Silverback has become a symbol of the parks struggle for survival. But the fight also takes a heavy toll on the families of the One Hundred Fifty ranges killed in action just see these tragedies are often eclipsed by the plight of the gorillas. Are funny if you will my husband died in one thousand nine hundred ninety two. He was killed in the park working to protect the gorillas. While my husband died on january twenty second twenty sixteen. He was on duty in kabaddi but hunting poachers. I do fear my husband was killed on patrol in for im going to park. To help the widows of the rangers who lost their lives the park set up a Sewing Business Last September the women make seventy is for tourists. That come up to walk the walk in the park built this little workshop for us because our men were killed in it service and i think. A man who had to move out and his coworkers collect their nations have brought in order to pay these families Thirty Dollars a month. Each of these stars stands for a ranger who was killed in every day every star longs to a ranger who died for the park. But i think he did it last to my husband died i was completely destitute so the park or sorry trees offered me help. But now the park provides a livelihood for me and my family. My children can even go to the park so no school for you charge what parking lots. Of folks that passage come to accept me we must accept that we are first and foremost at the service of the people who live in the surrounding area people that we dont succeed in sharing the Resources Of The Park with them we have failed in our work and we have failed in our mission i dont know if ya know. The the. The but the be. The be. Remembered. Long your match highlights. Love asked the best. The best we can just never has enough blood let. Her love the highlights playing the role of the sublime. The mall. More. Carefully observed. To get the biscuit the be be the. Subscribe to the documentary on you tube. Clips of. The first the leaders of the twentieth century. The more to end all wars cost millions of large. Lump. Sum up. The marks the Hundredth Anniversary of its lead. What has humankind learned from the great more. Plain as the beasts real peace and impossibilities legislation