Species Use Database

Mountain gorilla
Gorilla beringei

Used for Recreation in Rwanda

A. Species

Scientific name: Gorilla beringei

Common name(s): Mountain gorilla

Global IUCN Red List Threat Status: Critically Endangered


B. Location of use

Geographic location(s):

  • Rwanda

Country/Region: Rwanda


C. Scale of assessment

Scale of assessment: Individual Site

Name/Details of location: Volcanoes National Park


D. Timescale of use

Start Year: 2005

End Year: 2015


E. Information about the use

How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat

Type of use: Non-Extractive

Practice of use:

Lethal or non-lethal:

Does this use involve take/extraction of:

Purpose(s) of end use: Recreation

Motivation of use: Income generation from trade (individual/household/community), Recreational and Population/Area Management

Is this use legal or illegal?: Legal under national law


F. Information about the Users

Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people and International external


G. Information about the sustainability of use

Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable

Details of assessment carried out: Ecotourism per se is sustainable, but due to limited access to tourism benefits including the revenue sharing, high costs of living adjacent to the park, lack of community involvement and participation in the park management and decision-making process, the conservation benefits of ecotourism are limited. Findings of this study, based on questionnaires of local communities neighbouring the national par, revealed that mountain gorilla tourism through the tourism revenue sharing scheme has not directly benefited local communities and therefore has not addressed human-induced conservation threats.

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Mountain gorillas are a flagship species for conservation and generate large sums of money from species-specific ecotourism. Nevertheless, human-wildlife conflict and poaching are still a problem in the area

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable

Details of assessment carried out: this study

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Research findings revealed that mountain gorilla tourism through the tourism revenue sharing scheme has not directly benefited local communities and therefore has not addressed human-induced conservation threats.

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable

Details of assessment carried out: this study

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: ecotourists enjoy activity; locals earn some money - financial flow into local community needs to be improved

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: not recorded

Details of assessment carried out: this study does not analyse this

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: this study does not analyse this

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable

Details of assessment carried out: this study

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: ecotourism strictly regulated to ensure animal welfare


Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species

Better access to tourism benefits including the revenue sharing, high costs of living adjacent to the park, lack of community involvement and participation in the park management and decision-making process


Record source

Information about the record source: scientific_pub

Date of publication/issue/production: 2021-01-01T00:00:00+0000

Source Reference(s):

Sabuhoro E, Wright B, Munanura IE, Nyakabwa IN, Nibigira C. The potential of ecotourism opportunities to generate support for mountain gorilla conservation among local communities neighboring Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. Journal of Ecotourism. 2021 Jan 2;20(1):1-7.

Date of record entry: 2022-11-11