Since September, rebel forces have controlled the area, threatening to kill any conservationists or gorilla rangers who attempted to enter the area.

Diddy and Innocent are long-serving rangers who have spent their working lives protecting the remaining gorillas in the war-torn region.

In this weekly diary, they describe life on conservation's frontline and the frustration of how recent events are hampering their efforts.

The group says the plans will be good for the environment and our pockets

A "Green New Deal" is needed to solve current problems of climate change, energy and finance, a report argues.

According to the Green New Deal Group, humanity only has 100 months to prevent dangerous global warming.

Its proposals include major investment in renewable energy and the creation of thousands of new "green collar" jobs.

The name is taken from President Franklin D Roosevelt's "New Deal", launched 75 years ago to bring the US out of the Great Depression.

The new grouping says rising greenhouse gas emissions, combined with escalating food and energy costs, mean the globe is facing one of its biggest crises since the 1930s.

The Nobel laureate and former US vice- president, Al Gore, has urged Americans to abandon electricity generated by fossil fuels within a decade.

Mr Gore compared the scale of the challenge to that of putting a man on the moon in the 1960s.

He said it did not make sense that the US was borrowing money from China to burn oil from the Middle East which then contributed to climate change.

Critics say weaning the US off fossil fuels is not possible within a decade.

Ten "survival zones" are key to saving rare butterfly species from becoming extinct, according to Butterfly Conservation Scotland (BCS).

The areas identified include Highland Perthshire, Lochaber, North Argyll, Solway and Upper Deeside.

BCS has previously warned that climate change threatens some species.

It said Scotland had become a refuge for butterflies in decline in England and careful management of the zones could safeguard their future.

BCS director, Paul Kirkland, said changes to farming and forestry practices have affected habitats.

He said: "Butterfly Conservation Scotland has identified these 10 Butterfly Survival Zones where we will be focusing our new conservation strategy to re-connect isolated colonies to secure their future.

Different colour sediments represent oxygenated versus anoxic conditions

Undersea volcanic activity has been blamed for a mass extinction in the seas 93 million years ago.

In the so-called "anoxic event" of the late Cretaceous Period, the ocean depths became starved of oxygen, wiping out swathes of marine organisms.

Researchers from the University of Alberta, Canada, found a tell-tale signature of underwater volcanism in rocks dating to the period.

Their findings have been published in the journal Nature.

At the time of the anoxic event, the average temperatures were higher than those of today, researchers say.

Palm trees grew in what would later become Alaska and large reptiles roamed northern Canada. The Arctic Ocean was ice-free and scientists think it would have had a temperature we might describe today as lukewarm.

However, the oceans were also hit by a mass extinction which wiped out a type of large clam common at the time as well as tiny ocean creatures known as foraminifera, which live on the sea floor.

Ocean chemistry

Helped by a sudden sluggish shift in ocean circulation, the remains of these minuscule organisms littered the sea bed in thick layers, and over geological time became transformed into oil.

After the extinction, levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere dropped and Earth lurched into a sudden, but short-lived, period of cooling.

Geologists have pondered for years as to the cause of this extraordinary event.

Slavonian grebe are one of UK's most colourful birds

One of the UK's rarest birds is facing its worst breeding season on record, according to RSPB Scotland.

Slavonian grebe first nested in Scotland near Loch Ness, Inverness-shire, in 1909.

The entire UK breeding population - today numbering only 29 pairs - continues to be found within 40 miles of the area.

RSPB officer Stuart Benn said the birds were being monitored to determine what factors were affecting them.

The fears over the breeding season come in the wake of a bird ringed in Scotland being found dead in Iceland.

A fisherman found the bird drowned in his net at Myvatn - midge lake - and handed it in to the local research centre.

The centre in turn contacted RSPB staff in Inverness.

VIEWPOINT Jean-Christophe Vie

Despite our ever-increasing knowledge of the natural world, too many people still see it as just another means to make money, says Jean-Christophe Vie. In this week's Green Room, he sets out his argument why the planet's rich diversity of life needs to be preserved in its entirety.

We spend enormous energy and lose precious time by trying to demonstrate the obvious: wildlife in its integrity is vital for us

Forests, for example, are valued for their timber. When a country needs money, the forests can be cut down and the capital immediately released.

This may contribute to the nation's Gross Domestic Product, but in reality, the country has lost resources and becomes poorer.

The rationale for preserving wildlife is based on a variety of societal values including aesthetic, moral and spiritual ones, as well as more practical ones, such as contributing to the economy and human livelihoods.

It is also based on a precautionary approach and, in my view, common sense. If a species is there, I am firmly convinced that it has a good reason to be.