November 24, 2011

Important Congolese Conservationist Has Died

The Fossey Fund has just learned of the passing of Mwami Alexandre Muhindo Mukosasenge II, an important figure in conservation in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, with whom we have worked for many years.

Mwami Mukosasenge was a leading figure in the creation of community nature reserves in Congo and helped lead their association, the Union of Associations for Gorilla Conservation and Community Development (UGADEC). These reserves are home to the endangered Grauer’s gorilla (formerly called eastern lowland gorillas) and other endangered species.

He was also instrumental in the founding of the first of these reserves, the Tayna Nature Reserve. The reserves are a remarkable and successful community conservation effort, begun by local leaders like Mwami Mukosasenge, a traditional leader and chief in the region, who devoted their ancestral land to conservation. Grauer’s gorillas are found only in this part of Congo, and the work of conservationists like Mukosasenge is critical to their future.

We are grateful for the pioneering conservation work of Mwami Mukosasenge, and that the Fossey Fund could become a part of this important community conservation effort in Congo. We are deeply saddened by his passing.

Clare