UN-Habitat and World Wildlife?Fund(WWF)?have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to ensure a better protection of the Virunga National Park, a world heritage site in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The agreement marks the first time the two agencies with different mandates have joined hands in an effort to pursue the same goal of recognizing their mutual interest in the management of the Virunga National Park, and other protected areas.

UN-Habitat has been implementing a large-scale land conflict resolution programme in eastern Congo, including areas around the Virunga National Park, to assist refugees and internally displaced people returning home.

WWF is the world's leading conservation organization founded in 1961. The regional programme office for Eastern and Southern Africa is represented in North Kivu by its Virunga Environmental Programme.

A statement from WWF issued in Nairobi on Wednesday said the programme's main goal is the preservation of the biodiversity of Virunga National Park and in creating a harmony between the park and the development of the communities living around it.

UN-Habitat and WWF share the common objective to achieve the Millennium Development Goal related to environmental sustainability and recognise the impact of human settlement and displacement on biodiversity and the natural environment especially in the post-conflict situation in the east of the country.

WWF's participatory demarcation approach will contribute to the resolution of several conflicts linked to land tenure bordering the protected area.

UN-Habitat has a solid experience in land conflict mediation, land administration and land management. Both organizations thus recognise the benefits of synchronizing resources and expertise for the development of a joint long term programme in the Congo, especially its Eastern Province.

The two organizations will undertake the joint programme in consultation with local communities, and the ICCN, the Institut Conglais pour la Protection de la Nature.