Engaging local communities

in conservation of

chimpanzees in Rwanda

Thierry Aimable INZIRAYINEZA,

Coordinator/Forest of Hope Association (FHA)

OverviewForest of Hope Association (FHA) is a local Non Government Organization

(NGO) working on conservation of the Gishwati Forest in Rwanda since January

2012 to current.

The FHA mission is to engage local communities in conservation of Gishwati

forest, activity that was done by the Great Ape Trust/ Gishwati Area Conservation

Program (GACP), an International NGO that conserved Gishwati Forest Reserve

from 2008 through 2011.

We are animating

surrounding

communities so that

Gishwati may become

a model for Rwanda of

how communities may

actively join in

protection and

stewardship of their

forests.

Biodiversity of the Gishwati Forest

• Eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii, listed as Threatened on the IUCN Red List);

• Golden monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis kandti, listed as Endangered);

• Mountain monkeys (Cercopithecus l’hoesti, listed as Vulnerable);

• More than 130 species of birds including 14 that are endemic to the Albertine Rift and two IUCN Vulnerable species: Martial Eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus) and Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum).

The Community Forest protection Initiative(CFPI) is helping communities

around the forest to play an active role in Gishwati protection. The initiative

generated jobs. The communities around Gishwati are represented by 6 Agents

whose role is to patrol the entire forest and 6 committees of three people in each

cells was created to ensure community-based conservation and local ownership.

Human-wildlife conflict resolution: Conservation agreement with local farmers

reduced the occurrence of Crop raiding by wildlife and illegal cattle grazing. A

beekeeping business was started as an alternative solution to increase local farmer

income and capacity to mitigate these conflicts.

Community Education: Meetings with farmers, Historically marginalized people,

traditional healers, women and awareness campaigns using 13 eco-clubs in local

schools are organized. Based on experience of positive changes in terms of

improved ecosystem services, Local people changed their attitude towards

conservation initiative linked to the improvement of local economy

Community Development and Eco-tourism: supporting alternative source of

revenues to reduce dependency on forest resources.

Facilitating research to advise solutions linking conservation and local

development

FHA use the community partnership approach to link the

conservation and poverty alleviation

Key outcomes

• 10 job created (Gishwati Forest is protected by local people and the population of chimpanzees has grown from 20 to 25)

• Local awareness about the importance of Gishwati forest is increased

• Opportunity for the community development are created and started to generate incomes

• Local dependence on forest resources is reduced.

• The capacity of local farmers to reduce conflicts between them and the forest managers is strengthened

Supporting

Good working relationships with government agencies and other stakeholders

The technical support and advice from local government is a prerequisite for

success in Gishwati forest conservation. Army, police, Rutsiro District and local

leaders assist in forest patrols and law enforcement. Currently, together with

Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and Rwanda Natural Resources Authority

(RNRA), quarterly meetings are organized to monitor the work of forest

protection agents and to advocate for the larger protection of this Chimps

habitat.

Limiting

High Human population density and land scarcity in the region that increase

local pressure on the forest and its biodiversity (search of minerals, illegal cattle

grazing, firewood, charcoal and timber)

Insufficient local support for conservation activities

Lack of sustainable sources of funding for long-term conservation

Factors for the success in the conservation of chimpanzees in

Rwanda

Key lessons learnt• Community based forest protection helps local communities to understand

the impact of their unsustainable activities on the forest and on their own future. It

does help them to think and decide how to improve their development without

relaying on the forest resources.

• Conservation education and awareness influence development results.

Conservation messages are sometimes complex and might often sound

contradictory to tradition and usages. Gishwati is a good example showing that

local people support the conservation of protected areas when they are helped to

understand the overall importance and the role of these areas in improving their

land productivity and livelihoods.

Also students once well informed, have been proven to become strong advocates

of the conservation cause among their families and communities. This is why

students, through schools, can be very strong relays of the Conservation

messages

• Developing economical alternatives /Human-wildlife conflict resolution: in

order to be willing to contribute to the conservation effort, local communities must

be assisted in developing alternatives to the forest resources use. This increases

revenue and thus reduces conflicts and the number of people who use the forest

Thank You