Gishwati: The Forest of Hope
The rising sun illuminates majestic Symphonia trees with bright red flowers, towering above the moist forest floor that is home to giant land snails and mud-colored frogs. Spectacular giant tree ferns, known as Ibishigishigi in the Kinyarwanda language, grow in clusters along the Pfunda River. This is Gishwati, where an international team of dedicated people is trying to save and restore 1500 hectares of African forest that almost disappeared.
From being considered hopeless, Gishwati has become the “Forest of Hope,” a place for testing
innovative conservation strategies that can be an international model for conservation in the 21st century.
There is a chimpanzee at the edge of the forest, looking out at a field of maize. The forest is small and the chimpanzee is hungry. If he goes out into the cultivated lands bordering the forest he can take some of the maize stalks and chew them, gaining valuable energy from the sugary juice. The chimpanzee also knows that people may chase him away if he dares to venture forth from his forest home in search of food. In the end, he takes the chance and moves into the field of maize. A local farmer, angered at the crop-raiding by both monkeys and chimpanzees, boldly runs forward and chases the chimpanzee from his maize fields.
This is a true story from Gishwati, where local people experience conflict with the forest’s primates over who eats the maize grown by the farmers. Now, in an innovative new approach seeking to reduce that conflict, we have helped local farmers switch to growing potatoes in the areas where they used to grow maize along the edge of the forest. Will this be a solution to the conflict? It is too soon to know for sure, but this is one example of how the Gishwati Area Conservation Program, known as GACP, is trying new approaches to save an African forest along with the chimpanzees and other wildlife that live there.
The Gishwati Forest Reserve is located in Rwanda’s Western Province, near Lake Kivu and less than a two-hour drive from the city of Rubavu (Gisenyi). It is also close to Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, home of the endangered mountain gorillas. Although Gishwati is now a small remnant of what once was a much larger forest, the “Forest of Hope” remains a significant part of Rwanda’s heritage. Along with Nyungwe National Park, Gishwati is part of the Albertine Rift, a biodiversity “hot spot” of global significance.
Gishwati has a history of deforestation extending over the past 50 years, related to the establishment of ill-conceived large cattle ranches and the re-settlement of refugees following the war and genocide. In one sense, the forest became another victim of the genocide. Other factors include the establishment of agro-forestry plantations of non-native trees in and around the forest and increasingly intensive cultivation of smaller and smaller plots for subsistence agriculture by local people. These factors, taken together, resulted in most of the forest being converted to other uses, including what has proved to be unsustainable attempts to cultivate steep slopes prone to erosion and catastrophic landslides. It was in recognizing these unsustainable practices and in seeking to reverse the decades of conversion and destruction of the forest that the Gishwati Area Conservation Program came to be.
Protecting and restoring the Gishwati forest is a goal personally endorsed by His Excellency, Rwandan President Paul Kagame. Sharing his aspirations are a committed group of Rwandans working with a support team from Great Ape Trust, based in the United States. The program began with a meeting in 2007 between H. E. President Paul Kagame and Great Ape Trust Founder and Chair Ted Townsend. The two men pledged to found a “national conservation park” in Rwanda to benefit the climate, biodiversity, and the welfare of the Rwandan people. The Gishwati Reserve was chosen as the site of the park-to-be. Since 2007 we have made significant progress, working in respectful partnerships with the national and local governments and with the communities surrounding the forest.
These accomplishments include a 67 percent increase in the size of the forest achieved through demarcation of legal boundaries and annexation of illegally occupied land. The chimpanzee population has grown from 13 to 15, with the birth of two infants in the past year. This is probably the first increase in the size of the chimpanzee community in 40 years. Local understanding and support for conservation have increased dramatically, as evidenced by a steep decline in illegal activities observed in the forest.
Eyes sparkling with excitement, hundreds of children gathered last September at the edge of the forest for a special celebration. Dancing, drama, poetry, and sports competitions all were dedicated to protecting Gishwati. “It was astonishing to watch the enthusiasm and to see how the children took real-life experience and their new knowledge of the environment and put them together,” says Dr. Benjamin Beck, Great Ape Trust Director of Conservation. Working with 13 schools and many local cooperatives, we are committed to a community-based approach to biodiversity conservation that addresses the needs and aspirations of Gishwati’s people.
Dr. Becksums it up eloquently. “We realize we cannot save chimpanzees without helping people and we can’t help people without saving chimpanzees.” Gishwati embodies the challenges of conservation in the 21st century, where natural landscapes have already been dramatically altered and urgent human needs must be addressed sustainably. We have mobilized a team of eco-guards to educate local people about the benefits and importance of protecting the forest. The six eco-guards monitor the forest through daily patrols as restoration work proceeds. Hired from the communities surrounding the forest, the eco-guards received professional training in Volcanoes National Park and carry no firearms.
They teach local people how together we can save the forest, for the benefit of both people and wildlife. In 2008 the “Forest of Hope” began research on the Gishwati chimpanzees to determine precisely how many chimpanzees remained, discover their travel patterns, how they used the forest, and what foods they ate. Working with a dedicated and skilled team of research and field assistants, the research program is employing many local people.
Later this year we anticipate welcoming visitors to Gishwati. This new eco-tourism program will bring economic benefits to communities around the forest and expand opportunities for both visitors to Rwanda and for Rwanda’s own citizens to enjoy the natural beauty of the country.
People who have visited the mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park or seen the chimpanzees or monkeys in Nyungwe National Park may also be interested in spending some hours on a guided hike through a portion of the Gishwati forest or in excursions to visit beekeepers, artisans, traditional healers or villages where the forest’s former residents, the Batwa, now live. This program to protect and restore the “Forest of Hope” represents the best aspirations for Rwanda’s future, including her people, forests, and wildlife.
For more information contact:
Email: pclay@greatapetrust.org, asetka@greatapetrust.org or nyiratuzam@gmail.com
Website: www.greatapetrust.org
