RAPID RESPONSE FACILITY: HELP FOR THE DRC
When World Heritage sites face conflict and other urgent threats, critical time can be lost organizing and fundraising for a response - and during this time, sites may be permanently damaged. That is why the Rapid Response Facility (RRF) was created.
World Heritage sites facing conflict and other imminent dangers can receive emergency support through RRF, a small grants program jointly run by the United Nations Foundation, Fauna & Flora International, and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. RRF is designed to protect natural World Heritage sites in times of emergency, by providing necessary funds before the opportunity to preserve treasured natural heritage has passed. So far, three sites in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have benefited from the Rapid Response Facility’s fast, flexible funding.
In 2006 the RRF awarded emergency small grants to three of DRC’s threatened sites: the World Heritage sites of Salonga, Garamba and Virunga. These parks are home to numerous charismatic and rare mammals, including some of the world’s last remaining populations of mountain gorillas, but are plagued by illegal poaching and ongoing political conflict.
After years of sustained violence and social strife, a lack of training and equipment meant that rangers could no longer effectively do their jobs. In Garamba National Park (NP), for example, the population of Northern white rhinos dwindled to only four due to illegal poaching. To rebuild critical skills, in 2006 the RRF awarded a grant to fund the rehabilitation of a park training camp, enabling 40 Garamba rangers to receive essential training there. This timely action transformed anti-poaching capacity in Garamba, helping to ensure that its population of rhinos was not lost.
When the security situation deteriorated in Virunga in late 2006, the RRF awarded a second grant for emergency humanitarian support for park staff and their families, and for the rehabilitation of damaged ranger posts. The situation in Virunga remains complex, but this rapid response in early 2007 helped avoid a security vacuum that could otherwise have resulted in further destruction of the park’s forests and further attacks on its mountain gorilla population.
In both cases, the fast, flexible funding of the RRF provided much-needed support at a critical juncture. These positive results demonstrate the critical impact that emergency conservation support can have in times of conflict or natural disaster.
- For more information on the Rapid Response Facility, visit: www.fauna-flora.org/rrf.php.
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