Over 150 households face eviction from Gishwati-Mukura forest reserve

More than 150 households face expropriation as government moves to create a buffer zone for Gishwati-Mukura forest reserve and turn it into a national park, an official from the Ministry of Natural Resources has said. Adria Mukashema, the Deputy Director General in charge of forestry at the ministry’s Natural Resources Authority, revealed the number of households to be expropriated on Wednesday. She was speaking after appearing before a parliamentary committee that has been assessing a bill that seeks to turn Gishwati-Mukura forest into a national park. The forest reserve is located in Ngororero and Rutsiro Districts in Western Province. Plans to transform the forest into a national park have reached an advanced stage. Legislators have put efforts into putting in place a legal framework while the Ministry of Natural Resources is mobilising funds needed to implement the project. Most of the people to be expropriated are Rwandans who returned to the country after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi as they settled in many areas that formed part of the forest reserve and turned them into farms. Mukashema said that expropriation of those who encroached on Gishwati-Mukura forest will be relatively easy since there is plenty of land in neighbouring areas where the evictees can be resettled. “Expropriation will not be a problem because there is enough land nearby where people can be resettled. There are also community settlements (imidugudu) near Mukura and Gishwati forests where those who will be evicted can be resettled,” she told journalists. Members of Parliament visited the area and residents shared their concerns which included; lack of water and electricity, mining activities in the forest among others. The legislators told Mukashema that the government needs to stop mining activities in the forest, and extend water and electricity to the area which will encourage investments in tourism activities. Mukashema said that the government is ready to respond to all of the issues, with a $9.5 million (about Rwf7 billion) World Bank fund. “We have an entire year after enactment of the law governing Gishwati-Mukura national park to solve any outstanding issues about the park. We will deal with the issues gradually,” she said. Gishwati-Mukura National Park is expected to cover a total surface area of 3,427.46 hectares – Gishwati forest (1,439.72 hectares) and Mukura forest (1,987.74 hectares). The government has also dedicated an area covering 992.48 hectares to a subsequent buffer zone to deter human encroachment. Turning Gishwati-Mukura forest into a national park will give tourists a chance to see a wide range of fauna and flora found in the forest. They include four species of primates; the eastern chimpanzee, the golden monkey, the blue monkey, and the mountain monkey, more than a dozen species of East African chimpanzees, mammals such as red river hog, the black-fronted duiker, and the southern tree hyrax among others. Conservationists have also reportedly seen the black and white colobus, another species of primates. The forest reserve boasts of 60 species of trees, including indigenous hardwoods and bamboo. For the local population living in the sorrounding areas, turning Gishwati-Mukura forest, into a national park means they can land resultant off-farm jobs such as guides for tourists, selling craft products, and working in hotels and restaurants. “The people now understand that they can create off-farm jobs once the park is established,” said MP Veneranda Nyirahirwa, Vice president of the parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Technology, Culture and Youth, which is assessing the Bill. If everything goes according to plan, the law governing Gishwati-Mukura national park will be out and in force within the next two months, Nyirahirwa and other MPs on the committee said. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Over 150 households face eviction from Gishwati-Mukura forest reserve