Burera District has said there is a need for embracing clean cooking and distributing improved cookstoves to households around Rugezi wetland as hunting for firewood threatens its biodiversity.

The degradation of the 7,000-hectare wetland could not only disrupt clean water supplies but also impact hydropower generation.

ALSO READ: Rugezi Marsh biodiversity: Survey finds over 400 previously undocumented species

Water from the Rugezi wetland feeds the Ntaruka and Mukungwa hydropower plants via Lakes Burera and Ruhondo, as well as the Mukungwa River.

By 2004, water levels in these lakes had fallen by 50%, forcing the country to spend over $65,000 per day on diesel fuel to compensate for the electricity shortfall.

ALSO READ: How Rugezi wetland restoration stabilised hydropower supply

The Rugezi wetland was designated a Ramsar site in 2005, becoming a fully protected area.

Although the wetland has been rehabilitated by demarcating buffer zones and watersheds to protect its ecosystem, some households still find their way to collect firewood by cutting vegetation and trees.

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Jean Baptiste Nshimiyimana, Burera District Vice Mayor in charge of Economic Development, said improved cookstoves are being distributed to households along the wetland to reduce pressure on its biodiversity.

"The improved cookstoves being distributed use less wood and they can also use residues. They have a lifespan of up to 10 years. This will protect Rugezi wetland as people will no longer go to collect firewood from there,” he said.

He said that they partnered with Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association (RWCA) to distribute the improved cookstoves, adding that the district needs more partners.

ALSO READ: Rugezi wetland: Crane habitat under threat from grass-cutting

A biodiversity survey carried out on Rugezi wetland by RWCA in September 2024, found 638 different species with 433 new records that had not been previously documented at Rugezi Marsh.

The survey documented nine species that are globally threatened, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, and 14 Albertine Rift endemic species.

ALSO READ: Over 40% of Rwanda’s wetlands ‘lost their pristine nature’

Deo Ruhagazi, the Deputy Director of RWCA, said that residents around Rugezi wetland were cutting trees in its buffer zone as others collect firewood inside the wetland which threatens biodiversity.

"Cranes are among species being threatened by firewood collection and tree felling in Rugezi wetland. Number of trees in the buffer zones was decreasing,” he said.

He said there improved cookstoves to households in all villages surrounding the marsh.

"The improved cookstoves were distributed to two villages of Ngoma, Kamatengo in Rwerere Sector yet there are 108 villages that will be given these cookstoves,” Ruhagazi said.

Crane habitat was also under threat from grass used to craft traditional sleeping mats.

The Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) has announced its intention to turn the Rugezi wetland into an eco-tourism national park to expand tourism in this area.

Conservation organisations are also working with the Rwandan government to create a new 14,857-acre national park to protect the entire Rugezi wetland at the cost of over Rwf3 billion.