April 5th, 2008. ICCN Rangers conduct an anti-charcoal patrol in Virunga National Park. This area is a former chimpanzee habitat and can never be restored from this level of devastation. This area they are patrolling has been devastated by illegal charcoal producation and here they witness the largest production area they have encountered thus far--8 active charcoal kilns and a huge area of at least a kilometer square where the forest has been cut to the ground and trees burnt for charcoal production. Rwanda recently banned the production of charcoal which has led to increased prices and demand, and the charcoal industry is rumoured to be worth around $30 million a year.
