Eugène Rutagarama is an

environmentalist Environmentalism is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of Green politics, g ...

from

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

. He was awarded the "

Goldman Environmental Prize The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists. History Awardees are named from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, an ...

" in 2001, for his efforts on saving the population of

mountain gorilla The mountain gorilla (''Gorilla beringei beringei'') is one of the two subspecies of the eastern gorilla. It is listed as endangered by the IUCN . There are two populations: One is found in the Virunga Mountains, Virunga volcanic mountains of C ...

s in the

Volcanoes National Park Volcanoes National Park is a national park in northwestern Rwanda. It covers of rainforest and encompasses five of the eight volcanoes in the Virunga Mountains, namely Karisimbi, Bisoke, Muhabura, Gahinga and Sabyinyo. It borders Virunga ...

at Virungas mountains, during the war and recent conflicts in the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

.Goldman Environmental Prize
Eugène Rutagarama
(Retrieved on November 10, 2007)

Career

Since 2001, Rutagarama has been persistently engaged in his conservation endeavors, contributing to the facilitation of global collaborative initiatives aimed at safeguarding the Central Albertine Rift, a region known for its diverse flora and fauna, including the natural habitat of the Virunga mountain gorillas. Eugène has also held high positions at the Wildlife Conservation Society, th
Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund's Karisoke Research Center
and Rwanda's national parks agency, post the 1994 war and genocide. Currently, Eugène works as a senior conservation counselor at Wild Earth Allies, where he concentrates on preserving gorilla habitats by fostering community development. Two years after being awarded the Goldman Prize, Rutagarama took up the position of director of th
International Gorilla Conservation Program
(IGCP). He served in this role for nine years. In 2012, Rutagarama was appointed as the senior

Technical Advisor In film production, a technical advisor is someone who advises the director on the convincing portrayal of a subject. The advisor's expertise adds realism both to the acting and to the setting of a movie. Nipo T. Strongheart Nipo T. Stronghear ...

to th
Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration
an intergovernmental organization established by the DR of Congo,

, and

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

with the assistance of IGCP.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Rwandan environmentalists Living people Goldman Environmental Prize awardees {{environmentalist-stub