It’s around 11 am, and birds can be seen moving freely at Nyandungu Ecotourism Park – Kigali’s first-ever restored wetland – which they call home.

Located on the outskirts of Kigali, in both Kicukiro and Gasabo districts, it is the first public recreational and touristic facility of its kind in the city, according to the Rwanda Development Board (RDB).

The park covers 121 hectares, according to Nyandungu Eco-Park Manager Peace Izamukuza.

She said that tree planting was one of the elements of ecosystem restoration in the wetland, whereby more than 17,000 indigenous trees have been planted.

ALSO READ: Nyandungu Eco-Park gets management, opens to public

Members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) toured the park on November 30, to learn about it and what it has to offer.

This was part of outreach activities organised by EALA-Rwanda Chapter in partnership with RDB, to mark the East African Community (EAC) Day, held on November 30.

Previously, Nyandungu was among most of the wetlands degraded due to different illegal activities in Rwanda – activities that are not meant to be done in wetlands, Izamukuza said.

But, thanks to the restoration, she pointed out, biodiversity has been conserved with wildlife including birds, animals, and reptiles coming into existence there.

"When we came here last year [2022] to open the park to the public, we had counted more than 100 bird species, and today, we have counted more than 260 bird species. So, you can imagine that the wetland is so friendly,” she indicated, pointing out that the birds include crested cranes.

"There is a lot of other birds that migrate here. So, birding is becoming the touristic activity in this area,” she pointed out, indicating that people are learning about birds and want to know about birds.

ALSO READ: PHOTOS: Nearly 200 bird species return to restored Nyandungu eco-park

EALA MPs speak out

Speaking to The New Times, MP Abdullah Hasnuu Makame from Tanzania described the park as "a result of vision, focus, strategy and determination” in line with wetland restoration.

"I am saying that because this piece of land was a degraded wetland, [but] now, it has been restored by the landscaping work that has gone in it. So, there are pathways, there are nice places in the garden, you can have a nice walk, you can come and tour here, relax, [and] there is a nice restaurant,” he indicated.

"We from East Africa, we are saying this is a leaf that can be borrowed to all other East African Partner States because it is a positive practice, it is a good practice, it is the best practice,” he said, adding "it’s something that we are going to talk about in the debate on the floor of the house.”

MP George Stephen Odongo from Uganda said that they were "very much impressed by the park”, and most especially, by the story behind it, underscoring why it is important for environmental conservation in urban areas.

"It’s a story that resonates with most of our cities, most of our urban centres where the environment has borne the brunt of development, of expansion, of population growth,” Odongo said.

"Most times you go to our cities and find that the city wetlands have been destroyed, the conservation sites have been destroyed. So, the story of restoration of this park is a story that inspires us as East Africans. And for us as Members of the East African Legislative Assembly, we would want to use this as an example that can be replicated in most of our urban centres, in most of our cities,” he said.

MP Fatuma Ndangiza from Rwanda appreciated the effort to reclaim the place that would be hazardous to the environment and turn it into a green facility.

"Now, Nyandungu Eco-Park symbolises the will of our government in fostering environmental conservation by biodiversity management, and endeavouring to make Kigali a green city,” she said, adding that it helps promote tourism among Rwandans and other nationals.

The medicinal herb aspect

For Odongo, one of the special features that are very important is the element of preserving traditional knowledge systems of medicine – the medicinal garden – by collecting "different species of trees that are being used by our communities to treat different ailments.”

"That knowledge system that is being destroyed by modern medicine is something that we need to get back because it’s authentic, it is not driven by big pharma interests, it is something that for a long time, has been part of our healing,” he said.

Currently, Izamukuza said, the park receives an average of 6,000 visitors per month, and that it charges a relatively small fee to make the touristic service affordable to people. She explained that Rwandans and East Africans in general, have to pay Rwf1,500 (about $1) each, while international visitors are charged Rwf5,000 (about $4).

Apart from providing a good habitat to wildlife, the park is also contributing to urban flooding control in the City of Kigali, as it retains water runoffs from hilly areas surrounding it, such as through different ponds that were built there, Izamukuza said.

Meanwhile, Rwanda plans to restore five other degraded wetlands in the City of Kigali so that they become like Nyandungu.