Just some good news

From the BBC for January 18.

A remote range of volcanoes spanning the borders of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo is home to one of the last surviving populations of mountain gorillas.

During a decade of conflict in the region, gorillas have become easy prey for armed poachers.

To protect the remaining gorillas, national parks in the three countries launched an expensive programme of round-the-clock protection, and results from a new census suggest this has now paid off.

After weeks of tracking the gorillas through thick forests and deep ravines, conservationists found their number had increased by 17% since the last survey 15 years ago.

But despite the encouraging results, the mountain gorillas are still critically endangered. The survey found only 380 of them.

One of the things the article points up indirectly is the increasing use of "ecotourism" as a more ecologically-sound means to obtain commercial benefit from native animals - something that can be of vital importance to poorer nations - without harming them either through hunting or loss of habitat.

The gorillas have become a vital source of tourism revenue in Central Africa and wildlife experts say continued action will be needed to defend them from poachers.

So, not unqualified good news, but good news nonetheless.