Lesson video

Hello, there.

My name is Ms. Roberts and today, I'm here for a geography lesson, which comes from our unit of work all about a country called the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is found in Africa.

The lesson today focuses on one specific aspect of life in the DRC and that's conservation.

By the end of the lesson today, you will be able to talk about conservation efforts that are happening in the DRC, and you'll be able to explain why they are indeed so important.

To achieve this, let's look at some geographical terminology that will be really important for you to use.

Let's start with national park.

You might have heard of this.

There are national parks in the UK and indeed in many countries around the world.

A national park is usually a large area of land and that area is protected by laws.

Those laws are there to keep the natural environment of the national park safe from any threats.

Next we have biodiversity.

The biodiversity of any area from a teeny tiny pond to a giant rainforest.

The biodiversity refers to all the living things in that area.

Next is an adjective, and the adjective is endangered.

If we describe a species of animal or plant as being endangered, it means that they are at risk of extinction.

And extinction is when sadly a species dies out and doesn't exist anymore.

So it's really important to protect endangered species in order to make sure that doesn't happen.

Finally, we have something called poaching.

Poaching is sadly a human activity, which is a crime.

It's illegal, and it's when animals are hunted and captured from the wild.

Today's lesson is going to explore conservation in the DRC, why it's needed, and why it's so important, and we are going to investigate this within one part of the DRC, within one of the national parks in fact called the Virunga National Park.

So we're gonna start by exploring what the park is, where it is, and what it's like.

And then we'll move on to look at the conservation efforts that are happening there.

The Democratic Republic of Congo, you can see here on this map, is a country with some of the most unique and diverse landscapes on earth.

So to protect those landscapes, certain areas of the DRC are designated as national parks.

They are indicated by the areas with the pins on this map.

The one that I have circled here for you is a national park called Virunga National Park.

It's located in part of the DRC, which is in the Great Rift Valley.

That's a mountainous area of Central Africa.

The Virunga National Park National is believed to be the oldest national park in Africa, having celebrated its 100th birthday in 2025.

In 1979, something special happened in Virunga National Park and that's when it became what's called a UNESCO heritage site.

It was given this special title because of the outstanding natural beauty of the mountains and the valleys that are found there, and because it's teaming with hundreds of species of animals and plants, so it has a very rich biodiversity.

As a UNESCO Heritage Site, this means that this national park is protected internationally by special treaties or laws that help to preserve and protect it for the future.

So this is not only protected by the DRC, by the government of the DRC, it's protected at an international level by the United Nations.

Let's pause briefly for a quick learning check before we move on.

Can you tell me two reasons why the Virunga National Park was made a UNESCO heritage site? Okay, here are two reasons that I picked out.

It has incredible beauty, the stunning mountains and valleys of the area, and it has a rich biodiversity.

Thanks to all of those species of animals and plants.

UNESCO Heritage Sites protect those things.

Virunga National Park is vast.

It covers around 7,800 square kilometres and within that vast area, there are so many different types of landscapes.

There are mountains, there are forests, there are lakes, there is a river.

Within those different landscapes, we can find more than a thousand species of different types of animals, mammals, amphibians, reptiles and birds, and even teeny tiny insects.

In particular in this park, there is something very special.

There are 44 species that are known to be endangered.

These species, thanks to the Virunga National Park being protected as a world heritage site, are protected every single day.

Amongst those 44 endangered species is the mountain gorilla.

Yes, gorillas are critically endangered.

The mountain gorilla is the rarest primate on earth.

There's a baby mountain gorilla in this photo.

Mountain gorillas are endangered.

There are in fact only just over a thousand of them still living in the wild, and they are only found in this central part of Africa, around a third of their population.

So about 350 of the entire population on earth are found here in the Virunga National Park in the DRC.

They're found there because forests provide an ideal habitat for them.

That's mainly because they have a plant-based diet.

They're not carnivorous.

The forests, therefore, can provide plentiful supplies of leaves, shoots, and forest fruits for the gorillas to feast on.

Time for a quick learning check before we move on.

Which of these habitats is the best for the mountain gorilla? Coasts, forests, deserts, or swamps.

Have you chosen? It's the forest of course, because as we've mentioned, they have a plant-based diet, so they need plenty of leaves, fruits, and shoots.

There is a fully grown mountain gorilla in this picture.

Quite different from that little baby we saw just before.

Although the Virunga National Park is a world heritage site and that comes with lots of protection, it still faces very serious threats on a daily basis, and the biodiversity of this area is still at risk.

The threats which are experienced on a daily basis in this area predominantly include poaching, conflict within the country, habitat loss as a consequence of deforestation, and disease amongst species.

This means it's even more important to try to protect the park and preserve the habitats of endangered species such as the mountain gorilla.

At the start of the lesson, I explained to you what poaching is.

Poaching is an illegal activity and it happens when humans want something from the animal so they hunt The animal in the wild.

Animals are usually killed illegally because of the value of things like their skin, which we refer to as their hide.

The meat that they have or other animal products like ivory.

Ivory comes from things like the tusks of this beautiful elephant in the photo.

Poachers will go out and they track where animals are moving to and from and when they know the paths that animals are going to take, they will lay traps for them, traps or snares to catch them.

Gorillas aren't often actually poached themselves, but what happens is that other animals are being poached and gorillas end up ensnared in those traps.

I'd like you to take a moment now before we move on and fill in the blanks in this paragraph, please.

The blank words are endangered, poaching, or biodiversity.

You can pause the video now, read through the paragraph, and decide which is the best option, and then when you return, I will share the answers with you and then we'll move on to an activity together.

Okay.

Let's take a look now and make sure that you've got the words in the right places.

It is important to protect the biodiversity of places like Virunga National Park, which is at risk from threats such as poaching, habitat loss, and conflict.

Many rare and endangered species in places like Virunga National Park face potential extinction as a result of these threats.

Good job.

Now let's move on to an activity together.

For task A, I would like you to complete a fact file.

You can complete this by writing notes in complete sentences.

You might want to draw little pictures.

Any way that you feel most comfortable completing this is up to you.

You can use all of the resources from this lesson to help you or you can do some further research online.

I would like you to look at the locations of wild populations of the mountain gorilla.

I would look like you to look at the features of the habitat of the mountain gorilla.

I would like you to look at their diet, any other special facts about them, and the risks or threats to the mountain gorilla that exist.

Pause the video, do your research, complete your fact file, and when you come back, I will share an example with you.

I hope you enjoy it.

All done? Let's have a look together then.

So let's start with this fact file.

The locations of the wild populations of the mountain gorilla are only found in the wild in Central Africa in the east.

A third of those are found in Virunga National Park in the DRC.

They only live in lush, tropical forests in mountainous areas like the east of the DRC, and that's because they mainly eat a plant-based diet of leaves, shoots, fruits from the forest.

My special facts are that the mountain gorillas are endangered.

There are only about a thousand left in the wild in all of Earth, and the main threats to them in this area are poaching and conflict.

You may have had similar ideas.

You may have drawn some pictures.

I included a map of Africa to show the locations.

You may have drawn some forest leaves or fruits.

You may even have drawn the gorilla itself.

I hope you enjoyed that task.

Let's now move along and think about conservation efforts that are happening in Virunga National Park, and how they are helping the biodiversity.

In places like Virunga National Park, conservation is something that's an ongoing concern.

It's never going to lose its importance.

In Virunga, there are about 700 park rangers.

These are local people who are employed and their main priority in their job is the conservation and protection of the biodiversity of the park.

They are trained for months in their role and not only do they help to look after the animals and plants, but they also provide a police presence around the park, and they support the local communities that live within the boundaries of the park as well.

There are many small villages, towns, and communities in the area.

It was nearly 8,000 square kilometres so it's bound to include areas of settlements.

This one is a small village on the edge of Lake Edward, which is part of this national park.

Amongst the many aspects of the role of the park ranger is to help those local communities with their farming methods, with finding more sustainable drinking water for them.

This all in turn helps to protect the environment around them.

Given what you now know about rangers in the park, is it true or false to say that their primary job is only to look after animals? It's false, isn't it? Can you tell me why? The rangers look after everything there.

It's not just the animals and the plants, but also the local communities as well.

The local park rangers aren't the only people taking part in conservation efforts in Virunga National Park.

There are other international organisations that help as well.

Now that means organisations that come from other countries to the DRC to participate in conservation efforts.

Some of these are international charities, others are academic or scientific organisations that are funded privately.

One example is a charity called the International Gorilla Conservation Programme.

I've chosen this as an example 'cause it's a very famous charity that works specifically to look after these mountain gorillas and their habitats, and it was founded by one of the world's most well-known conservationists, and her name was Dian Fossey.

She travelled to the DRC and was so incensed and upset by the poaching of these precious animals that she stayed there and set up this charity herself to protect them.

Earlier in the lesson, we talked about how the Virunga National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The United Nations works all over the world to maintain peace and to protect natural environments amongst many other things.

So during times, especially those of civil unrest, the UN will come and help people in the DRC as well.

We can see here some UN support during a time of conflict.

This allows local people to continue to survive there, but it means that the remaining area of the National Park will be protected as the UN can provide food supplies that the people will not have to destroy the forest for.

Two of the Oak Academy students, Sam and Izzy, have been talking about conservation in the Virunga National Park.

Sam says that "There is no local support in Virunga National Park, so international organisations have to help with conservation." Izzy says that "Conservation efforts are supported by local and international groups in Virunga National Park." Who's correct? On this occasion, Izzy is correct.

Conservation efforts are supported by local and international groups.

Can you name any examples of local or international support in Virunga National Park? Examples include UNESCO and UN, the Virunga National Park Ranges, and charities like The International Gorilla Conservation Programme.

So bearing in mind everything we've learned today.

I'd like you to complete this final activity.

Alex from Oak National Academy has written a paragraph to answer the question, why is conservation in the DRC important? Unfortunately, there are six mistakes in this paragraph.

I would like you to find the mistakes and correct them, so rewrite the paragraph and make sure that it is accurate.

You can go back through this lesson and look at everything you've learned to help you find those mistakes.

Pause the video, take your time to work through this task, and when you return, I will share a corrected version of the paragraph with you.

Okay.

Well done for working through that task.

Let's have a look at the answers together.

The first mistake is in the very first sentence.

The DRC has many national parks.

In the Virunga National Park, there is great biodiversity.

Over 40 endangered species have their habitats there as well as over a thousand other species.

Some species are found nowhere else on earth like the mountain gorilla.

Did you spot that one? Well done.

That's followed quickly by the next correction, which is the year.

In 1979, Virunga National Park was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

That's right, well done.

Because of the endangered species and tropical forests.

Conservation is important to protect the animals and the natural beauty for the future.

In Virunga National Park, more than 700 park rangers work every day in the conservation of the animals and plants.

Their work is important because of threats from poaching, habitat loss, and conflict.

Did you make all of the right corrections? Well done.

You've worked so well today with a lot of information, so let's review what we now know.

We know that within the DRC, there are several national parks and the purpose of them is to protect the endangered species that live there, like in Virunga National Park, which is home to the rare mountain gorillas that face daily threats from poaching and conflict.

Conservation efforts have to balance protecting nature and supporting the local communities.

International organisations as well as local people work together to protect wildlife and rainforests in the DRC.

Thank you so much for listening today and for all of your hard work.

I hope you enjoyed the lesson and I look forward to seeing you again next time to find out more about the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

See you then.