On August 6th and 7th, 2024, at CEPHA'S INN in Kabale, Republic of Uganda, Conservation authorities from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Rwanda, and the Republic of Uganda, Conservation Non-governmental Organisations, and scientific institutions involved in mountain gorilla conservation held a two-day preparatory technical meeting for the mountain Gorilla census, which is planned for October 2024. This meeting was organized by Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration (GVTC) in collaboration with the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP). GVTC is the umbrella framework, bringing together all the GVL conservation partners, while IGCP will assume the scientific, technical and logistical coordination of the Mountain Gorilla Census.

The representatives of ICCN of DRC, RDB of Rwanda and UWA of Uganda reiterated their unwavering commitment to the mountain gorilla census exercises. Their dedication to this cause, given that gorillas are the key flagship species they share together, is a source of confidence and reassurance. Democratic Republic of Congo through ICCN, was represented in that meeting, by Mr. Joel Wengamulay, Director in charge for international Cooperation at Congolese Institute for Conservation of Nature (ICCN), the Republic of  through Rwanda Development Board, was represented by Mr. Eugene Mutangana, Ag. Managing Director of Conservation Company while  the Republic of Uganda through Uganda Wildlife Authority was represented by Mr. Charles Tumwesigye, Deputy Director for Field Operations.

On behalf of the institutions they represent, they Committed to avail the resources, personnel, and equipment to conduct this exercise successfully. However, challenges so far identified and that might affect the census exercise include the Security situation in Sarambwe Nature Reserve of Democratic Republic of Congo, contiguous to the Bwindi Impenetrable National Parc home of mountain gorillas. Additionally, funds are not yet fully secured, especially funds to support the DNA analysis but remain optimistic that everything will go well.

Dr. Andrew G. Seguya, Executive Secretary of GVTC promised to reach out to different partners, including governments and other stakeholders, to join hands for a successful census with scientific-based results.

The last censuses of the Bwindi-Sarambwe population and the Virunga population have shown a promising trend. The number of individual mountain gorillas has increased from 400 in 2011 to 459 in 2015/2016, and from 480 in 2010 to 604 in 2015, respectively. This positive trajectory has led to a current global total of 1.063 individual mountain gorillas in the wild. We are optimistic that the upcoming census will further reinforce this trend.

This exercise will start with the Bwindi-Sarambwe ecosystem, which is comprised of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP) in Uganda and the Sarambwe Nature Reserve (SNR) in the DRC. Together, they encompass approximately 340 km2. The next phase of the census will take place next year in the Virunga Massif ecosystem, which is comprised of Volcanoes National Park of Rwanda, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park of Uganda and the Mikeno Sector of Virunga National Park of Democratic Republic of Congo.

This ecosystem's characteristics include an elevation range of 1160 to 2607 m above sea level and annual rainfall of 1400 to 1900 mm. Correspondingly, bamboo or mixed bamboo, bracken fern, grassland, herbaceous, meadow, Mimulopsis, mixed forest, Neobutonia trees, and swamp characterize most of the landcover in this ecosystem. The climate is characterised by two rainy and two dry seasons per year.

The field-survey approach will be based on non-invasive genetic mark-recapture abundance estimation of gorillas. Field teams will walk through the vegetation following reconnaissance routes, termed ‘recces’, until a single survey of the entire ecosystem – termed a ‘sweep’ – is complete. Once the teams find fresh gorilla trails, they stop following the recce to track back the trail seeking the gorilla nest sites. Once the nest site is found, the teams will collect fecal samples from each nest, for genetic analysis to identify individual gorillas.

The census's outcome will serve for better planning as it will allow to know how conservation efforts are doing, what outcomes have been produced over the last five years, and what is to be fixed, improved, and what can be kept.

Juvenal Mukeshimana

GVTC Program Assistant