Environmental resources, conservation and degradation

18 min

Why this matters

Rwanda has no oil and no coastline. Its wealth lies in fertile soils, forests, rivers, lakes, wildlife and scenery. These resources feed families, earn tourist dollars and make the country liveable. They can be used wisely and last for ever, or be used up in a generation. This lesson defines the key ideas and lists Rwanda's environmental resources.

Key terms

Environment: everything around us, both living (plants, animals, people) and non-living (air, water, soil, rocks, climate).
Environmental (natural) resource: anything in the environment that people use to meet their needs, such as soil, water, forests, wildlife and minerals.
Renewable resource: one that can be replaced naturally if it is used carefully, such as forests, fish, water and soil.
Non-renewable resource: one that exists in a fixed amount and is not replaced within human lifetimes, such as minerals (cassiterite, coltan, wolfram) and quarried stone.
Environmental degradation: the decline in the quality of the environment through the loss or damage of its resources. Examples are eroded soil, polluted water, destroyed forest and the loss of wildlife.
Environmental conservation: the wise use, protection and restoration of the environment so that resources meet today's needs and last for future generations. This idea is called sustainable use.

Conservation is not the same as locking resources away. A farmer who terraces a slope and keeps farming it is conserving the soil. A fishing cooperative that uses legal nets and rests the lake during breeding is conserving the fish.

Rwanda's environmental resources

Resource	Rwandan examples	Main uses
Land and soils	Volcanic soils of Musanze; alluvial valley soils	Farming, settlement, grazing
Forests and vegetation	Nyungwe, Gishwati–Mukura, bamboo on the Virungas; woodlots; savanna in Akagera	Timber, fuel, water catchment, tourism
Water	Lake Kivu, the Nyabarongo, the Akagera, Rugezi and other wetlands	Drinking water, HEP, irrigation, fishing, transport
Wildlife	Mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, lions, rhinos, papyrus birds	Tourism, research, heritage
Minerals and rocks	Cassiterite, coltan and wolfram; granite, clay and sand	Export earnings, construction
Climate and air	Mild highland climate, two rainy seasons	Farming, health, comfortable living
Scenery	The thousand hills, volcanoes, lake shores	Tourism, recreation

Worked example: classifying resources and damage

For each case, say whether the resource is renewable, and whether the case shows conservation or degradation.

A hillside in Ngororero is cleared of trees and ploughed down the slope. Soil and forest are renewable, but only slowly. Clearing the trees and ploughing downslope speeds up erosion, so this is degradation.
A cooperative on Lake Kivu stops fishing during the breeding season. Fish are renewable. Letting stocks recover is conservation (sustainable use).
A quarry removes a hill of granite for road building. Granite is non-renewable. The use may be necessary, but without restoring the site afterwards it causes degradation.

Tip

Memory hook. Conservation means using resources as you would a bank account: live on the interest, never spend the capital. Cut only as many trees as grow back, and catch only as many fish as are born. Degradation is spending the capital.

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Practice

Define environmental degradation and give one Rwandan example.

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Solution: the decline in the quality of the environment through the loss or damage of resources. Example: soil erosion on steep, bare hillsides (or forest loss in Gishwati).

Is coltan a renewable or non-renewable resource? Explain.

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Solution: non-renewable: it exists in fixed deposits that are not replaced within human lifetimes.

Give two renewable environmental resources of Rwanda.

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Solution: for example forests and water (also soil, fish, wildlife).

A farmer terraces her slope and keeps farming it. Is this conservation? Explain.

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Solution: yes: she keeps using the land while protecting the soil, which is sustainable use.

Summary

Conservation is the wise use, protection and restoration of resources so they last; degradation is their decline in quality or quantity.
Rwanda's resources include land and soils, forests, water, wildlife, minerals, climate and scenery.
Renewable resources can last for ever if they are used no faster than they are replaced.

Sources and credits

Geography of Rwanda: Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0, adapted by Ganzaa.

The definitions, the resource table, the worked example and the practice items are written by Ganzaa.

This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1Why this matters

2Key terms

3Rwanda's environmental resources

Worked example: classifying resources and damage

Practice

Why this matters

Key terms

Rwanda's environmental resources