The support of the European Commission (EC) and the European Development Fund (EDF) in Virunga has been fundamental to conservation in the park.

While the natural resources of the park are part of the Congolese national heritage, the efforts to protect those resources are increasingly, and rightly, being supported by the international community. The European Union was the first major donor to offer significant support to the conservation and development efforts in Virunga back in the late 1980s with the Kivu Program.

EU support has been strengthened since 2002 and Virunga is once again the subject of a major European Union funded programme amounting to over 11 million Euros, including 5 million Euros already spent, and 6 million Euros due to be disbursed.

Funds are directed toward infrastructure, training and institutional support and are channelled through organizations on the ground such as World Wildlife Fund and Africa Conservation Fund . Thanks to these monies, field activities are better resourced and crucial conservation efforts can forge ahead.

European Union funds have also been used exclusively to build this website that is the official website for Virunga National Park.

For further information on the EU’s activities in DR Congo please visit http://www.delcod.ec.europa.eu/