Environmental Conservation and Tourism
Senior 6 · Geography
Environmental Conservation and Tourism
Lesson 1 of 5
45 min
Nyandungu, on the eastern side of Kigali, was once a damaged urban wetland. In 2016 the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) began a project to restore it, funded through the Rwanda Green Fund (FONERWA) with international partners. About 17,000 trees of 55 indigenous species were planted, ponds were dug to hold floodwater, and walkways and bike lanes were laid out. The Nyandungu Urban Wetland Eco-Tourism Park, 121.7 hectares of wetland and forest, opened to the public in July 2022 (Rwanda Development Board, 2022).
The project did three things at once: it brought back plants and birds, it gave the city a natural sponge that soaks up floodwater, and it created a place for recreation and tourism. That is the idea of this unit: protecting the environment and using it wisely belong together.
Definition
Environment: everything that surrounds and affects living things: the physical (abiotic) parts such as air, water, soil and rocks; the living (biotic) parts such as plants, animals and micro-organisms; and the human-made (built and social) surroundings.
Environmental degradation: the deterioration of the environment through the loss or damage of resources such as soil, water, air, forests and wildlife.
Conservation: the careful management and protection of natural resources so that they can be used now and still be available in the future.
Sustainable development: development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Brundtland Report, 1987).
Biodiversity: the variety of life: of genes, species and ecosystems.
Figure 1. Causes, forms and effects of environmental degradation. Drawn by Ganzaa.
| Form | Main causes | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Soil erosion | Cultivating steep slopes without terraces, overgrazing, removing vegetation | Steep hillsides of Rwanda's Western and Northern provinces; the Loess Plateau of China |
| Deforestation | Clearing for farms and settlements, firewood and charcoal, logging | The Amazon rainforest; Gishwati forest in Rwanda, largely cleared before it was protected |
| Loss of wetlands | Drainage for farming, building and brick-making | The Rugezi wetland: its drainage and farming in the early 2000s reduced the water reaching Lakes Burera and Ruhondo and the Ntaruka power station; it is now a protected Ramsar wetland |
| Desertification | Drought combined with overgrazing, over-cultivation and cutting of trees on dry lands | The Sahel, south of the Sahara |
| Loss of biodiversity | Destruction of habitats, poaching, invasive species, pollution | Mountain gorillas once close to extinction; the near-loss of rhinos from Akagera before their reintroduction |
| Pollution | Industry, vehicles, untreated sewage, plastics, chemicals (see the next lesson) | Plastic waste in rivers and lakes |
Worked example 1: a forest cover target
Problem. An illustrative district covers 600 km², of which 120 km² is forest. (a) What percentage is forested? (b) How many hectares must be planted to reach the national target of 30%? (1 km² = 100 ha.)
Solution.
Interpretation. The district must plant 6,000 ha, half as much again as its present forest. Rwanda as a whole reached its target of 30% forest cover in 2019, when the Ministry of Environment reported 30.4% of the land under forest, through afforestation, reforestation and agroforestry.
| Method | How it works | Example in Rwanda or the world |
|---|---|---|
| Afforestation, reforestation and agroforestry | Planting trees on bare land, replanting cleared forest, and growing trees among crops | National tree-planting campaigns; forest cover of 30.4% in 2019 |
| Soil conservation | Terracing, contour ploughing, grass strips, mulching, cover crops | Radical and progressive terraces on Rwanda's hills |
| Protected areas | National parks and reserves where hunting, farming and settlement are controlled | Volcanoes, Nyungwe, Akagera and Gishwati-Mukura national parks (Gishwati-Mukura created in 2015) |
| Wetland and river-bank protection | No building or farming in buffer zones; restoring drained wetlands | Nyandungu Eco-Park; buffer zones along rivers and lakes |
| Laws and policies | Rules on land use, waste, emissions and impact assessment | Law N° 48 of 2018 on environment; the ban on plastic carry bags (Law N° 57 of 2008) and on single-use plastics (Law N° 17 of 2019) |
| Environmental impact assessment (EIA) | Studying the likely effects of a project before it is approved | Required for major projects in Rwanda |
| Community action and education | Monthly community work, school clubs, awareness campaigns | Umuganda on the last Saturday of each month |
| Clean energy and efficient use | Replacing firewood and charcoal with gas, electricity and improved stoves; recycling | Improved cookstoves; recycling of plastics and electronic waste |
| International cooperation | Agreements and funds shared by many countries | The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, adopted in Kigali on 15 October 2016 to phase down HFC gases; the Paris Agreement |
Worked example 2: analysing a conservation choice
Problem. Farmers on a steep hillside are told to stop cultivating it. Analyse why a ban alone may fail, and suggest a better approach.
Solution. A ban removes the farmers' food and income, so they may break it or move to another slope. Conservation works better when it also gives people a living: building terraces (with support such as food or cash for work) keeps the soil on the slope and allows continued farming; agroforestry adds fruit, fodder and firewood; tea or coffee on contour terraces provides cash. Judgement: conservation succeeds when it is planned with the people who use the land and when they gain from it, as Rwanda's revenue-sharing with communities around national parks shows.
Warning
Common mistakes
UNCCD (the UN Convention to Combat Desertification): "Land Degradation Neutrality. Why it matters, how it's done" (short version). As you watch, note what "neutrality" means and the three steps the video gives: avoid, reduce and reverse degradation.
Practice
Summary
Sources and credits
Photo: Launch of the Environment Week 2017: Umuganda at Nyandungu Wetland (Rwanda Environment Management Authority, CC BY 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons.
Video: "Land Degradation Neutrality. Why it matters, how it's done (short version)", UNCCD, embedded from YouTube.
Figure 1, the worked examples and the exercises were drawn and written by Ganzaa.
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
