Editor,

RE: "Illegal activities threaten Gishwati-Mukura park conservation” (The New Times, September 27).

I thank The New Times for this so much detailed piece. It shows that the writer took his time to research on his article. This is the kind of journalism – that’s detailed, factual and research-based – we should encourage.

That said, I want to urge my fellow Rwandans to stand up and join conservation efforts. Figures from RDB clearly show that conservation of our natural resources is benefiting our economy and communities.

It is thus our duty to keep working hard to ensure that we maximise benefits and that our parks, reserves and natural resources are wisely exploited.

I commend LAFREC Project and REMA for their efforts in restoring our newest national park: Gishwati-Mukura. It is clear that there are a lot of challenges but if we all pull our efforts together , there is no doubt that we will succeed and that, sooner rather than later, we will start reaping from the national parks through increased tourism revenues.

Bravo REMA and LAFREC Project.

Keep the momentum.

Jane Kamanyana