Rwanda boasts more than 703 bird species, making it one of the countries with the highest concentration of bird population in Africa.

The bird population in Rwanda is composed of more than 180 visiting species from places like Europe, Asia and some African countries. Such visiting species include the Madagascar pond-heron, grey crowned crane, the white stork and so on.

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Speaking to The New Times, Jean Luc Rukwaya, a biodiversity sector specialist at Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), pointed out some of the reasons why birds can find a good home in Rwanda, including the nature of the country and the measures in place to conserve it.

He highlighted that the country revised the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) in 2016 so as to respond to the national needs and priorities for biodiversity conservation and threats facing biological resources.

The NBSAP aims to increase and protect the national territory holding particular biodiversity and ecosystem services, as well as safeguard the protected terrestrial and inland waters. This is done, for example, through dedication of 74 per cent of wetlands to conditional use, while 20 per cent of wetlands are to be totally protected.

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"Such places are the habitat of animals including birds of different species,” he noted, adding that wetlands are sites for breeding, food availability and safety from illegal activities that threaten birds, including bird hunting.

Rukwaya also said that 30 per cent of the country’s territory is dedicated to forests. Besides, he pointed out that there are private sector efforts that have increased bird conservation, for example, Umusambi Village, an initiative for relocating grey cranes from households to a sanctuary and eventually to parks.

In addition, he highlighted that there are increased green spaces in urban areas which complement Rwanda’s diversity of habitats which include naturally occurring vegetation in the country’s national parks like Volcanoes, Akagera, Gishwati-Mukura and Nyungwe.

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The country has also worked on environmental legislations that protect wildlife like birds and their habitats against illegal activities like poaching and degradation.