Virunga National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is home to a 'rich diversity of habitats that surpass those of any other African park' and 'exceptional biodiversity, notably endemic species and rare and globally threatened species such as the mountain gorilla'.

The park encompasses a huge area (8,000 sq km) and is woefully understaffed and poaching remains rife. However, a pilot project in Kenya has shown that the use of surveillance drones can reduce poaching by up to 96%. Drones are now being deployed across all of Kenya's National Parks. This $103m project is being funded partly by Kenya and the governments of the United States, Netherlands, France and Canada.

Given Belgium's colonial links with The Democratic Republic of Congo it would be appropriate that they secure funds, with other international partners, to enable Virunga National Park to protect its rich biodiversity with the aid of surveillance drones.

Learn more about the potential of drone monitoring to save the lives of gorillas, elephants, lions, rhinos and the humans that protect them here (video), and here.