Conserving and Expanding Rwanda's Forests – Forestry in Rwanda (Senior 4 Geography) | Ganzaa

Forestry in Rwanda

Lessons

Senior 4 · Geography

Forestry in Rwanda

4 lessons

Lesson 4 of 4

Conserving and Expanding Rwanda's Forests

25 min

68 million trees in one season

The 2025–2026 tree planting season was launched on 25 October 2025 under the theme "My Tree, My Legacy". By 25 May 2026, 68,543,338 trees had been planted, 114.2% of the target (RFA).

Figure 5. Trees planted by province in the 2025–2026 season. Drawn by Ganzaa from the Rwanda Forestry Authority's tree planting progress page.

Planting is only one of the measures Rwanda uses to protect and expand its forests. Is it the most important?

Definition

Forest conservation: protecting, managing and restoring forests so that they keep providing products and services. Forest landscape restoration (FLR): restoring tree cover and its functions across whole landscapes, including farms, through planting, agroforestry and natural regeneration.

Sustainable yield: harvesting no more wood each year than the forest grows.

Worked example 1: trees per person, and survival

\frac{68\,543\,338}{13\,246\,394} = 5.2\ \text{trees per Rwandan in one season}

Evaluation. Planting numbers are impressive, but trees only count if they survive and are managed. REMA notes that "weak extension services do not allow for effective follow up of planted seedlings resulting in extremely poor survival rates" (REMA, 2021). If, for example, only half of the seedlings survived (an illustrative figure), the season would add about 34 million trees, not 68 million. A good plan therefore measures survival, not just planting.

Conservation measures in Rwanda

Measure	What it involves	Evidence
Policy, law and institutions	National Forestry Policy (2018); the Rwanda Forestry Authority (2020); forest permits	REMA (2021); RFA
Better management of plantations	Public forests handed to private operators; small private forests grouped into Private Forest Management Units with simple management plans	36% of public forest area transferred; 870 ha in PFMUs (REMA, 2021)
Landscape restoration	National commitment to restore 2 million ha; member of AFR100 (100 million ha in Africa by 2030)	About 900,000 ha rehabilitated since 2011, 45% of the national target (REMA, 2021)
Tree planting seasons	Nurseries, community and school planting, umuganda	68.5 million trees in 2025–2026 (RFA)
Agroforestry	Trees on farms, along terraces and boundaries; fodder trees	Much of the forest gain 2011–2019 (REMA, 2021)
Quality seed and research	National Tree Seed Centre and research division at Huye	RFA
Less wood per meal	Improved (energy-saving) cookstoves, gas, briquettes, biogas	32.2% of households had and used an energy-saving stove in 2022 (38.7% rural, 16.0% urban) (NISR)
Protection of natural forests	National parks, fire control, fern clearing after fires, revenue sharing	Unit 7, lesson 3

Worked example 2: is restoration on track?

Data (REMA, 2021). About 900,000 ha rehabilitated between 2011 and 2021; national target 2 million ha by 2030.

\text{past rate} = \frac{900\,000}{10} = 90\,000\ \text{ha a year} \qquad \text{needed} = \frac{2\,000\,000 - 900\,000}{9} = 122\,000\ \text{ha a year}

Interpretation. To reach 2 million ha by 2030, restoration must speed up by about a third. Much remaining land is farmland, so the extra hectares will come mainly from agroforestry and better-managed woodlots rather than new forests.

Evaluating the measures

Strengths	Limits
Forest cover rose from 618,000 ha (2011) to 725,000 ha (2019)	Much of the gain is exotic plantations and agroforestry, not natural forest
Large, well-organised planting campaigns	Seedling survival and follow-up are weak
Private management raises productivity of public forests	Small private woodlots are still cut early
Efficient stoves and gas reduce demand	Only 4.6% of households cook with gas; firewood still 76.1%
Restoration of 900,000 ha by 2021	The rate must rise to reach 2 million ha by 2030

Warning

Supply and demand. Conservation answers often list only planting (supply). Rwanda's wood deficit is just as much about demand: cooking with wood in three-stone fires. A strong answer combines more and better-managed trees with less wood per meal.

Rwanda Forestry Authority (RFA): "Planting trees in Rwamagana". A planting campaign in the Eastern Province, where forest was lost in 2009–2019. Note who takes part and what is planted.

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Practice

Distinguish afforestation, reforestation and forest landscape restoration.
Describe five measures taken to conserve forests in Rwanda.
The Eastern Province planted 26,866,126 trees against a target of 16,423,889. Calculate the percentage of the target achieved.
Why is seedling survival as important as the number of trees planted?
Explain how improved cookstoves help to conserve forests.
How do Private Forest Management Units improve small woodlots?
"Rwanda's forest conservation measures are succeeding." Evaluate.

Show answersHide answers

Afforestation: planting where there was no forest. Reforestation: replanting cut forest. Forest landscape restoration: restoring tree cover and its functions across whole landscapes, including farms (agroforestry, natural regeneration).
Any five: policy, law and RFA; private management of public forests and PFMUs; restoration (900,000 ha since 2011); planting seasons (68.5 million trees in 2025–2026); agroforestry; quality seed and research; efficient stoves and gas; protected areas and fire control.
$\frac{26\,866\,126}{16\,423\,889} \times 100 = 163.6\%$ .
A seedling that dies adds no wood, carbon or soil protection; REMA reports very poor survival because of weak follow-up, so counting plantings overstates success.
They burn wood more efficiently, so less firewood or charcoal is needed for each meal, lowering demand on woodlots and forests (and reducing smoke).
Owners of small neighbouring woodlots manage them together under a simplified plan, with better species, spacing and harvesting age, so more wood grows on the same land.
Succeeding: cover up from 618,000 ha (2011) to 725,000 ha (2019); 900,000 ha restored by 2021; huge planting campaigns; private management. Limits: gains are mostly exotics and agroforestry; survival is weak; the east lost woodland; wood demand remains twice supply; gas use is low. Conclusion: tree cover is succeeding, but natural forest protection and demand reduction need more.

Quick check

Key points

Measures: policy and law (Forestry Policy 2018, RFA 2020), private management and PFMUs, restoration (about 900,000 ha by 2021 towards 2 million ha), planting seasons (68.5 million trees in 2025–2026), agroforestry, seed and research, efficient stoves and gas, protected areas.
Success depends on survival and management, not just planting numbers.
Demand matters as much as supply: firewood is still the fuel of 76.1% of households; energy-saving stoves reach 32.2%.
Restoration must rise from about 90,000 to 122,000 ha a year to meet the 2030 target.

168 million trees in one season

2Conservation measures in Rwanda

3Evaluating the measures

68 million trees in one season

Conservation measures in Rwanda

Evaluating the measures