DRC conservationists wind up study tour in Musanze

MUSANZE - 17 members of a conservation group from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), known by its French acronym as CACOPVI, and local administrators from North Kivu, have said Rwanda’s rural transformation mechanisms was worth emulating. They made the remarks Thursday, as they completed a three-day study tour in Musanze District. “Rwanda has proved to be exemplary, especially in rural transformation and technology like the use of biogas. Everything here is modernised compared to what is being done in Congo. We want to go back and implement these programmes in our home area,’’ said Paul Ndeze, the Executive Secretary of CACOPVI, who is also king of Bwishu in Rutshuru territory. The members of CACOPVI, which operates in North Kivu, visited agro-related projects, rural technology innovations, Volcanoes National Park, and community projects close to the park in Kinigi area. According to Teddy Musabe, the tour was organised by Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration Secretariat, an organisation operating in Rwanda, Uganda and DRC.Musabe commended the rural land consolidation and crop intensification programme which has increased food production and enhanced people’s standards of living. At Volcanoes National Park, the team was offered lessons on the role of the community in conservation of wild life.Oreste Ndayisaba, a community conservation warden at the Volcanoes National Park, explained that Rwanda managed to minimise illegal activities in the park, including poaching, by creating a good relationship with park residents through a revenue sharing scheme. Ends