RDB’s environmental specialists at Nyungwe National Park are in fear of environmental and natural resource destruction within the national park.
The controversy between the environmentalists and MININFRA resulted from the ongoing process of a 32km road rehabilitation from Pindura, a junction at the main road within the park connecting to Bweyeye Sector at the Burundi boarder that is meant to be widened up to 7 meters.
The road construction had been put to halt for almost two years due to misunderstandings between road contactors under the MININFRA and the park’s management authority which is under Rwanda Development Board.
Speaking to igihe.com at Bweyeye Sector, Patrice Nzamuye the Nyungwe National Park protection and Law Enforcement Warden noted, “There will be a lot of negative consequences affecting natural resources like falling debris and degradation that will contaminate the river tributaries.”
“There will be cutting down trees, querying murram within the park among others which is really against the law on environmental conservation” He stressed,” he added.
Nzamuye says that he is not opposing the road rehabilitation since it will be helpful to many people living in the area but there should be a clear study and with cooperation between the concerned parties to safeguard the environment as well as rehabilitating the road.
“The Ministry of Infrastructure should sit down with us as environmentalists and formulate possible ways of rehabilitating this road without any negative consequencies,” Nzamuye said.
Fidele Ruziganderwe who is in charge of Monitoring and Evaluation at the Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Society said, “The National Park is so important not only to our country but also the whole world in terms of preserving ecosystem, promoting tourism sector among others and continued destruction will be a big loss to our country and the world in general.”
According to him 70% of the Rwanda’s natural water arise from Nyungwe national part and any contamination will be a big challenge.
Juvenal Harerimana a resident of Bweyeye sector in Rusizi district urges, “Government should help us and make this road finished because the transport here is a big challenge to all of us as the residents of this area.”
“Two heads are better than one, so let leaders from the two parties come to the plea so that the problem can get rectified because both the road and the national park are all important to anyone of us,” Harerimana added.
For a person to walk from Pindura to Bweyeye it takes over 7hrs, riding bicycles takes approximately 3hrs and hiring a motorcycle costs Rwf7000, while one using a car, the 32kms takes almost 2hrs drive.
“Our produce is not accessed to the market just because of this ditched road and sometimes, one to go to Cyangugu has to pass through Burindi and then connect there, which is difficult to those people that do not have boarder pass permits,” Jean Pierre Twagirayezu told igihe.com.
Bweyeye Sector officials argue that, as the Minister of Natural Resources Stanislas Kamanzi had confirmed earlier, the road construction should be done and materials like murram should be got from the national park.
What does the top brass officials from two parties attribute towards the saga?
Rose Mukankomeje, the Director General REMA says, “We are not against Rwanda’s development but we also have to protect natural resources and ensure the sustainable management.”
“It’s over 60% of the rain we receive in Rwanda that come from Nyungwe and that’s why we have to manage it carefully as Rwanda’s heart.”
“During the meeting with MININFRA, we had agreed to go to this area together and find well established sites where to get murram and after they were supposed to show environmental management plan to us but when the team went there, MININFRA’s technical team did not come into agreement with us just because they don’t want to comply with us,” Mukankomeje added.
“For us we don’t want conflicts with MININFRA because the road is also for our people but we need a well defined policy over the project with a clear document presented,” she pointed out.
MININFRA’s Minister of State in charge of Transport noted, “For us we followed procedures as required and we even came into agreement that materials for the road project should come from within the park.”
“The environmentalists should conduct training to the road contractors upon the environment policy instead of stopping the road construction.”
Speaking to the MINIRENA’s Minister is still futile but we shall keep you updated upon the issue” The minister said.
What does the law say about the issue?
According to the organic law n. 04/2005 of 08/04/2005 that determines the modalities of protection, conservation and promotion of environment in Rwanda article 29 provides: “no competent authority, in accordance with the existing laws, can issue permission for the construction in cases where such constructions may degrade environment.”
Article 31 obliges “Every government project or private individual activities can not be permitted to operate if they are contrary to their plan and shall aim at considering the strategies of conservation of environment as provided by the law”.
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