The gorillas in Rwanda and Uganda live in a relatively stable and safe environment. However, this does not apply to the part of the Virunga Massif on the Congolese side, where around 350 of the world's estimated 1,075 (year 2024) wild mountain gorillas live. The exploitation of the area massively threatens the species’ very existence.

The Kivu region in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been shaken by many serious humanitarian crises. Virunga National Park lies right in the middle of it. Virunga currently has over 700 male and female rangers actively serving to protect the park, the gorillas and the communities surrounding it's borders. They routinely face harsh physical conditions, injury or even death. More than 200 rangers have been killed in the line of duty since 1925.

In 2013, the Park launched the Virunga Alliance which brings together North Kivu’s public authorities, civil society and the private sector around a shared vision of sustainable development. Together, they pursue three objectives: the conservation of the Park’s natural resources, the reduction of poverty and the promotion of peace.

Virunga National Park is part of the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) which is an institution of the Democratic Republic of Congo, (DRC), responsible for the protection of nature. The Virunga Foundation (VF) is a charitable organization under British law, whose mission is to contribute to the protection and development of the park.

In 2015, the ICCN and the Virunga Foundation entered into a cooperation agreement – a public-private partnership – running until 2040. While the organisations are separate, in the field, ICCN staff and Virunga Foundation employees work under the authority of a single management.

Virunga National Park was founded in 1925 as Albert National Park. It was the first national park to be established on the continent of Africa, primarily to protect the mountain gorillas living in the forests of the Virunga Massif. When it was first established, Virunga National Park was limited to three volcanoes in the south, but was later expanded northward to include the Rwindi plains, Lake Edward and the Rwenzori “Mountains of the Moon”. In 1969, following the country’s independence from Belgium in 1960, the Park was renamed Virunga National Park. Ten years later in 1979, Virunga was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Despite the many challenges there are also good news:

• In 2017 hippo numbers increase to over 2,000 in the first time in 20 years
• In 2018 mountain gorillas are taken off the IUCN critically endangered species list
• In 2019 clean, electric power arrives to the city of Goma, home to over 2 Mio people
• In 2020 a herd of over 500 elephants was observed in the Ishasha sector of the park