Daniel Niyonsaba
Other projects
5 Mar 2020
Assessment of Habitat Quality in Areas Formerly Occupied by Elephants in Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda: A Prerequisite for Elephant Re-Introduction Planning and Implementation
Nyungwe National Park (NNP) in Rwanda is one of the largest remaining tropical montane forests left in the Albertine Rift, a biodiversity hotspot. Human pressure on biodiversity in Rwanda has increased continuously causing extirpation of some species due to poaching and habitat loss. The elephant was extirpated from NNP in 1999. Sustainable conservation strategies for the remaining biodiversity have focused on threatened species and reintroduction of elephants needs to be based on reasons which caused their disappearance. This project will identify the perceptions of local communities around NNP about:
1. Reasons which caused extinction of elephants from Nyungwe
2. Nyungwe National Park and its biodiversity today
3. Suggest factors to consider if and when elephants will be reintroduced to Nyungwe’s and develop sustainable conservation strategies of the park based on information about people’s perceptions of wildlife in the park and importance of biodiversity.
The objective of this research is to identify the reasons which caused the extinction of elephants in Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda. When the reasons which caused extinction of elephants is known, this will help park managers assess if there is relationship or similarity with currents threats to Nyungwe’s remaining biodiversity, allowing them to prepare their stakeholders and staff, to implement relevant measures for protecting and conserving Nyungwe’s biodiversity particularly threatened species so that they may not became extinct like elephants.
This research will help also decision makers in their future conservation plans, to know the kind of protection and conservation needs for elephants if they are to be reintroduced to Nyungwe National Park, and factors to consider before reintroducing them. This would include consideration of reasons that caused their extinction before, and assess if the threats are still there and how they should be handled. Another thing which may need consideration is how relationships or interactions with people and elephants were in NNP. This is important because we have now public roads that pass through the park as well as tourist movement.
This research also will be a sensitization for the public, particularly park managers because they will be able to know how the cost of ignoring the protection and conservation of biodiversity is higher than the cost of conservation. Elephants became extinct from Nyungwe National Park due to carelessness of our forefathers, but up to now there are people who are still doing illegal activities which are harmful to Nyungwe’s biodiversity. Based on what happened to elephants in Nyungwe, we should not take more time thinking on what could happen; if we delay taking actions to reduce illegal activities occurring in Nyungwe particularly affecting remaining threatened species, we may lose other species from the forest.