Gorilla Friendly

Image credit: WCS Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network (WFEN) is proud to announce that Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park has become our first Certified Gorilla Friendly™ Park. Gorilla Friendly™ certification guarantees the application of best practices in all gorilla-related operations, from tourism to research, to safeguard the well-being of the primates and ensure active support for and from […]

(Photo credit: Thomas Marent) The Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) is classified as an endangered species by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, with a current estimated population of 1,063 individuals. Found only in the Virunga Transboundary Landscape that includes Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, mountain gorillas are extremely vulnerable to

“The Tourism sector in Rwanda employs over 350 tour guides and operators. This shows the urgent need for sustainable tourism-based businesses, and the sure way to achieve this is through responsible tourism and conservation. Safeguarding mountain gorillas is therefore key,” stated Yves Ngenzi, Regional Coordinator for East African Tourism Platform and Rwanda Tourism Chamber Staff.

About 60 tour operators and guides in Uganda were recently sensitized on the Gorilla FriendlyTM pledge initiative and on-going online campaign. International Gorilla Conservation Program and Wildlife Enterprise Network in collaboration with the Association of Uganda Tour Operators conducted a two days meeting for tour operators and guides in Kampala. The meeting focused on the

Gorilla Doctors would like to congratulate our partner organization, the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP), who, along with the Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network (WFEN), launched the Gorilla Friendly™ Pledge, “an awareness raising campaign developed to minimize the risk of disease transmission from human to gorilla, during treks to see these magnificent great apes in the

Park-edge communities in Mikeno Sector – South of Virunga National Park (DRC) have pledged to double their conservation efforts to protect mountain gorillas against communicable diseases. The commitment was made during a training on mountain gorillas and communicable diseases. Organized by IGCP in partnership with Virunga National Park the training equipped the participants with knowledge

Unique handicraft products and organic honey production by the local cooperatives around Volcanoes National Park are contributing to conservation of the endangered mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) and creating sustainable livelihoods for park edge communities. Mountain gorillas represent a culturally, ecologically, and economically important resource to the three range countries, Uganda, Rwanda and DRC, as

An eco-tourism program has been taken to tourism and hospitality enterprises in Rwanda with an aim of increasing their engagement in gorilla conservation and environmental protection so as to compete on the global market. The Certified Gorilla Friendly™ program was unveiled this November 1, 2022 by the Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network (WFEN) in collaboration with