Residents of cyanzarwe in Rubavu district are disgruntled saying their livelihoods are not impressive due to poverty.
They are part of the group that was relocated from Gishwati eco reserve which had been seriously depleted pausing an environmental disaster.
They claim that their new area doesn’t support their agriculture activities
saying it’s very small and less yields obtained.
Each family was allocated land measuring 40 by 50 metres which they say is very small to support their families.
According to state broadcaster, the residents in Ngwinurebe of Cyanzarwe claim there has been no improvement of their livelihoods due to poor housing and limited arable land.
Kabera Eric, the Executive secretary of Cyanzarwe says, there are plans to sensitize residents to work hard and improve their livelihoods.
GISHWATI
As recent as 20 years ago, the Gishwati Forest covered more than 50,000 acres. Today, about 2,500 acres (1,000 hectares) are forested, replaced by farming and grazing.
In 2008 Rwanda government, Great Ape Trust of Iowa and Earthpark announced that Gishwati Forest Reserve is the future site of the Rwanda National Conservation Park, setting into motion one of Africa’s most ambitious forest restoration and ecological research efforts ever.
The Gishwati Forest was deforested in the 1980s by agricultural development and in the 1990s during the resettlement of people following the civil war and genocide.
Human encroachment, deforestation, grazing and the introduction of small-scale farming resulted in extensive soil erosion, flooding, landslides and reduced water quality – as well as the isolation of a small population of chimpanzees.
Leave a Reply