Over 90,000 trees are set to be planted at the shores of lake Kivu along Rutsiro District axis to prevent soil erosion and also protect biodiversity in the lake. The trees to be planted are made of different species including fruit trees and will cover 450 hectares. Rutsiro is one of the five districts bordering Lake Kivu whose local community benefits from the fishing and fish farming activities as their daily business but some still conduct activities like charcoal burning which contributes to soil erosion. ALSO READ: REMA warns of water pollution in Lake Kivu High intensity of rainfall, poor farming practices, mining and grazing are also listed among the causes soil erosion. Also, over 20,000 fruit tree species are set to be planted around Koko river sub-catchment in Gihango sector. There will also be terracing on 10 hectares and protecting 10 kilometres of buffer zone along the lake. There are currently awareness campaigns along the communities living along the lake on how best to protect the it. The campaigns and tree planting exercises are to be conducted by local authorities and Albertine Rift Conservation Society (ARCOS). The home for sardines locally known as ‘Isambaza’ previously it was reported that fish production is sharply declining over illegal activities. One of the reasons why fish production is going down, according to what fish farmers and fishermen say, is that traditional agriculture practices on uphill near Lake Kivu causing erosion. Sylvan Hitatuma one the fishermen in Lake Kivu says they used to fish over one ton in a single day but currently get about 200 kilograms. It is clear that there are people who have started planting banana plantations, cassava in the buffer zone, when there is a lot of sand coming at the shores, our aquatic harvest declined,” Hitatuma said, adding that, “harvest has sharply decreased mainly due to soil erosion and illegal fishing nets catching small fish.” Speaking to The New Times, Mayor of Rutsiro District, Triphose Murekatete said the conservation of Lake Kivu, through fighting against soil erosion and planting trees including fruits, will be a key solution for the district in the battle against stunting. According to Rwanda Environment Management Authority's Plankton and Ecology specialist, Balthazar Masengesho, the collected weekly data shows that the standards for oxygen and temperature in Lake Kivu are good for fish to grow according to the tropical climate. Masengesho points out that, most importantly, poor fishing styles contribute to the decrease of fish production, urging that it should be minimized. According to Rwanda Agriculture and Animals Resources Board (RAB) data, fish production decreased from 24,199 tonnes in 2017/18 to 19,296 tonnes 2018/19 and drastically to 16,194 in 2019/2020.
