Introduction

Nyungwe is the second national park in Rwanda to fall under our management. Historically, the park’s rich fauna and flora was exposed to rampant poaching, illegal mining and agricultural encroachment, all endangering the survival of its unique biodiversity. However, in 2020, following a successful 10-year partnership with the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) that saw the ecological and economic revival of Akagera National Park, African Parks was invited by the government to sign a 20-year agreement to manage Nyungwe National Park. Together, we are working to restore and protect wildlife, engage with the local communities, and implement an effective law enforcement strategy to ensure the long-term ecological, social and economic sustainability of the park.

Biodiversity Restoration

Nyungwe has incredibly high wildlife diversity and endemism, making it a priority for conservation. A quarter of all of Africa’s primates, 13 species, can be found here, including the Eastern chimpanzee and two Albertine Rift endemics, L’Hoest’s monkey (Cercopithecus l’hoesti)and Hamlyn’s monkey (Cercopithecus hamlyni). The Rwenzori colobus has been observed in a single group of more than 400 individuals, the largest ever recorded of any primate on the continent. Nearly 1,100 species of plants have been recorded, of which 240 are trees and about 200 are orchids. This unique landscape has also produced an extreme level of endemism among plants as well as animals, with more endemic species recorded here than any other forest in the region.

Sadly, over the years, unsustainable levels of hunting and historical regional instability have resulted in the probable loss of several key species. Other challenges facing the forest are diverse, from illegal extraction of minerals, fauna, and flora for commercial purposes to the invasion of exotic plants. The high density of people on the periphery of the park increases the risks of incidents of human-wildlife conflict and agricultural encroachment into the park.

Under our management, sound conservation, tourism, and other sustainable revenue-generating activities are underway. Over 100 eco-rangers, former poachers, have been engaged and trained, contributing to the removal of 60% of all poachers’ snares from the forest. This in turn improved the livelihoods of their family through their monthly income. As conservation law enforcement and community facilitators, they form a vital link between the community and the park.

Exotic plant species are being cleared from various sites and park-supported nurseries are propagating 36,604 seedlings of indigenous forest tree species, for restoration and indigenous tree proliferation in forestry and agroforestry