Alternative Fuel Promises to Aid Mountain Gorilla Conservations

Guest post by Molly Feltner/The Great Apes Blog

A new alternative fuel project recently launched in Rwanda promises to combat the deforestation of national parks where mountain gorillas live. The Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project (MGVP) and Art of Conservation, have partnered together to introduce the new alternative fuel technology–fuel briquettes composed of recycled materials that can be made easily with simple wooden presses–to the communities living near mountain gorilla habitat.

The project’s main objective is to help wean Rwandans off charcoal. Charcoal is a vital fuel source for most Rwandans, but the environment pays a heavy price. Much of the wood used to produce charcoal in the region is harvested illegally from the Virunga rainforest, which combines Volcanoes National in Rwanda, Virunga National Park, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mgahinga National Park in Uganda. About 450 of the world’s remaining 750 mountain gorillas live in the Virunga rainforest, so protection of this forest habitat is essential to the species’ survival.

Fuel briquettes pose a potential anecdote to the charcoal problem. The technology was first championed in DRC by Virunga National Park, where the problem of illegal deforestation is most severe. Now, MGVP, which works with mountain gorillas in Rwanda, DRC, and Uganda, and Art of Conservation, a conservation education project, are seeking to replicate this effort in Rwanda. (more…)