Is gorilla-friendly conservation compatible with local communities and tourism?
It can be difficult to find a balance between species conservation and the needs and aspirations of our own species.
In this “Good Tourism” Insight, Sheillah Munsabe of the Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network describes a gorilla-friendly model for conservation, responsible tourism, and improved community livelihoods.
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As we become more globalised, the responsibility for protecting Earth’s endangered species lies in our collective hands.
One of the most endangered species is the mountain gorilla, which can be found in only three African countries: Congo (DRC), Rwanda, and Uganda; in the Virunga Transboundary Landscape where those three nations meet, and in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
This is why Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network (WFEN) developed the Certified Gorilla Friendly™ program.
The Certified Gorilla Friendly™ program comprises the Gorilla Friendly™ Pledge and two distinct certification ecolabels:
- Certified Gorilla Friendly™ Tourism, which focuses on the certification of tour operators, lodges, hotels, drivers, etc., and
- Certified Gorilla Friendly™ Park Edge Products, which targets the certification of park-edge community enterprises.
The program is administered by the Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network (WFEN) and the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP), who act as the implementation partners across the Virunga Transboundary Landscape.
Local communities and the tourism industry can play very important complementary roles in the conservation of endangered species such as mountain gorillas. Revenues and incomes from tourism should ideally provide sufficient resources and incentives to communities to proactively protect the habitats of endangered species.
Accordingly, as human populations grow and encroach on mountain gorilla habitat, the further integration of responsible tourism and local development for sustainable livelihoods becomes a priority.
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Gorilla-friendly tourism and product standards
The aim of the Gorilla Friendly™ program is to ensure that those who manage, operate, and invest in the tourism industry proactively contribute to the conservation of mountain gorillas for future generations.
Thus the Certified Gorilla Friendly™ Tourism Standards, the cornerstone of this certification program, were developed through partnerships and consultations with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), conservation experts, and tourism stakeholders, including the Global Sustainable Tourism Council.
This provides applicable means to implement the IUCN Best Practice Guidelines for Great Ape Tourism amongst different tourism stakeholders such as national parks, tour operators and guides, lodges, hotels, and drivers.
Communities adjacent to the gorilla habitat are considered the main protectors of mountain gorillas. However, these households bear the most costs in terms of crop-raiding and loss from mountain gorillas, and some receive a disproportionately low amount of benefits from tourism.
The lack of alternative sources of income for these communities contributes to extreme poverty and results in park incursions to access natural resources for household needs; leading to degradation of the gorilla habitat.
Moreover, the growing demand for tourism activities, especially gorilla treks, has the potential to expose the gorillas to human-transmitted diseases which is a critical threat.
Through the partnership between WFEN and IGCP, the Certified Gorilla Friendly™ Park Edge Products program was introduced to communities around the mountain gorilla habitat in Uganda and Rwanda.
Certified Gorilla Friendly™ Park Edge Products focuses on developing resilient and robust enterprises in the communities neighbouring mountain gorilla habitat, and improving local attitudes to mountain gorilla conservation.
Training on the Certified Gorilla Friendly™ Standards has resulted in the application of best practices, enhanced the capacity of park-edge communities to develop resilient and robust enterprises, and improved local attitudes to mountain gorilla conservation.
This has involved the application of a conservation enterprise model that contributes to poverty reduction while also conserving gorilla habitat.
Today, six community enterprises around Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and six enterprises near Bwindi Impenetrable National Park have been Certified Gorilla Friendly™ Park Edge Products.
Some of these certified enterprises include Red Rocks Initiative for Sustainable Development, Ride4AWoman, Change A Life Bwindi, CIBIC, and others.
Agnes Uwamahoro of the COOPAV Mararo Cooperative believes it is a great opportunity to access new markets, build the capacity to upscale, and become ambassadors for gorilla conservation.
The Gorilla Friendly Pledge
The Gorilla Friendly Pledge is a (predominantly) online awareness campaign for the conservation of gorillas, including detailed guidelines for anyone visiting gorilla habitat, or simply interested in learning more about gorillas.
This encourages tourists, tour operators, and other tourism stakeholders who partake in gorilla trekking to ensure that gorilla tourism is conducted in an ethical, responsible, and healthy manner.
It includes taking all necessary precautions when trekking and maintaining a distance of no less than 10 metres, wearing a surgical mask, keeping quiet during interactions, avoiding direct contact with the gorillas, and more.
The Gorilla Friendly Pledge also outlines a commitment to protecting the environment of these precious species by adhering to these tourism guidelines.
Shopping, storytelling, and other species
WFEN is further developing its certification programs by bringing on board other partners and creating links to reliable premium markets.
We are creating a platform to showcase certified enterprises, their products and services, and where and how they can be purchased. The platform will also tell the positive conservation impact stories of Certified Gorilla Friendly™ enterprises.
We aim to enhance conservation efforts for other Hominidae (great apes) too. We have already certified enterprises that co-exist with western hoolock gibbons and western lowland gorillas. Soon we will certify chimpanzee-friendly enterprises.
WFEN’s goal is to build economies that protect the habitats of endangered wildlife for a triple bottom line: People, Planet, Profit.
What do you think? Share a short anecdote or comment below. Or write a “GT” Insight of your own. The “Good Tourism” Blog welcomes diversity of opinion about travel & tourism because travel & tourism is everyone’s business.
Featured image (top of post): Meet Jijuka, a baby gorilla named by Sol Campbell during Rwanda’s 19th Kwita Izina in 2023. Jijuka means ‘enlightenment’. Find more pics of the baby gorillas named at the 19th Kwita Izina.
About the author
Sheillah Munsabe is the Network & Certifications Coordinator at Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network (WFEN).
