Deforestation in Rwanda: causes, effects and control

1Why this matters

In 1930 Gishwati was a large, continuous mountain forest. By 2001 only a small patch of native forest remained, surrounded by tea estates, pasture and farms. The hills below it then suffered erosion, landslides and muddy streams. Deforestation is one of the main environmental problems Rwanda has had to reverse. This lesson explains where it happens, why, what it does and how it can be controlled.

2Meaning and areas at risk

Deforestation is the permanent removal of forest so that the land is used for something else, such as farms, pasture, settlements or mines. Areas most at risk in Rwanda:

• the edges and buffer zones of Nyungwe, Gishwati–Mukura and Cyamudongo, where farms meet forest;
• gallery forests and savanna woodlands in the east, cut for charcoal and cleared for farms and ranches;
• private and public woodlots harvested before the trees mature, and not replanted;
• steep slopes in the west and north where trees are cleared for crops.

3Causes

• Demand for farmland from a large, growing rural population
• Firewood and charcoal: most households still cook with wood
• Timber and building poles for a construction boom
• Settlement, roads and infrastructure
• Cattle ranching and grazing, which cleared much of Gishwati
• Mining: artisanal gold digging once scarred parts of Nyungwe
• Bush fires, often spread from land clearing or honey gathering

4Effects

• Soil erosion and landslides on bare slopes; soil fertility falls
• Siltation and flooding: rivers fill with mud, and floods rise faster
• Drying springs and streams in the dry season, and less local rainfall recycling
• Loss of biodiversity: Gishwati's wildlife collapsed, and only a small group of chimpanzees survived
• Climate change: cut and burned trees release carbon dioxide
• Fuelwood scarcity: longer walks to collect wood, higher charcoal prices
• Lost income from tourism, honey and medicines

5Control measures

Worked example: tree cover loss from satellite data

Satellite data (Global Forest Watch) show that Rwanda had about 497,955 ha of tree cover in 2000 and lost 49,775 ha between 2001 and 2024. Calculate the percentage lost and the average loss per year.

1. Percentage lost = 49,775 ÷ 497,955 × 100 = 10.0%.
2. Number of years 2001–2024 inclusive = 24.
3. Average loss = 49,775 ÷ 24 ≈ 2,074 ha a year, about 21 km² a year.
4. Caution: this counts only loss of trees taller than 5 m, including plantations that are harvested and later regrow. New planting is not counted, so it does not show the whole picture.

Practice