COMMUNITIES living around Nyungwe National Park have been hailed for their pro-conservation culture and practices.This was during the official launch of a mini- maize grinding factory which has been constructed as part of the country’stourism revenue sharing scheme.The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) allocates 5 per cent of total annual parks revenues to community projects around the three national parks –Nyungwe, Akagera and Virunga.While officiating at the ceremony in Buruhukiro Sector, Nyamagabe District, last week, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Francois Kanimba, hailed local residents for their efforts to preserve the environment and protect Nyungwe national park.He said over the past years, residents used to poach animals in the park, fell trees and conducted other illegal activities inside it. That resulted into the loss of the park’s biodiversity and the reduction of its surface, he said.The minister cited cases of fire outbreaks which have destroyed part of the park, attributing it to some activities mainly beekeeping.But, he noted, these cases have been on a downward trend in the recent past as more residents get involved with conservation efforts. "The more the surface of the forest decreases, the more you feel its negative effects,” Kanimba cautioned, before adding: "We congratulate you for your efforts to protect this park.”He warned them that any action that might affect the ecosystem in any park could have negative impact on the national economy and particularly on their lives, telling residents that Nyungwe forest, for instance, plays a key role in regulating precipitation."Parks make a big contribution to the national economy,” Kanimba said.Last year, tourism was the biggest foreign exchange earner having generated $232 million.HopeAs part of efforts to stimulate local communities’ involvement in the sustainable management of protected areas and parks, the Government instituted a scheme to support their developmental projects.Started in 2005, the initiative is aimed at reducing human activities that threaten protected areas.Cooperative Twisungane Gatare, which comprises 65 members from Buruhukiro, Gatare and Nkomane sectors of Nyamagabe District, is among the beneficiaries of the scheme.Located at the edge of Nyungwe National Park, the cooperative received funds amounting to Rwf 23million which helped its members to set a mini-maize grinding factory and build a store for their products.The plant is equipped with two oil-powered machines that make maize flour  which is then sold locally.It has a capacity to process 2.5 tonnes of maize a day, according to the coop representative Aloys Ngendahimana.But that capacity will double once the area gets connected to the national electricity grid, Ngendahimana told The New Times.According to Nyamagabe District Vice Mayor for Economic Affairs, Immaculée Mukarwego Umuhoza, the area residents will have access to electricity in less than two months."We are looking to the future with optimism and hope for improved life,” Marie Chantal Nyiranyenzi, the coop’s vice president told The New Times.Sixty-six projects operate in the five districts bordering Nyungwe National Park, according to  Head of Tourism and Conservation in RDB Rica Rwigamba.