Lake Gacamirindi (french: Lac Gacamirindi, ), or Lake Gacamirinda, is a lake in the
Kirundo Province of
Burundi
Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...
.
Location
Lake Gacamirindi is in the
Commune of Bugabira
The commune of Bugabira is a Communes of Burundi, commune of Kirundo Province in northern Burundi.
The capital is Bugabira.
There are health centers at Muyange, Bugabira, Muyange and Ruhehe, Burundi, Ruhehe.
Location
The Commune of Bugabira is bor ...
, Kirundo Province.
The lake covers an area of , and is set between hills with fairly steep slopes.
It is surrounded by the densely populated ''
collines'' of Kiri and Nyakarama.
In the past the lake merged into a marshy area beside the
Akanyaru River
The Akanyaru River is the main tributary of the Nyabarongo River. It rises in the western highlands of Rwanda and Burundi, flows east and then north along the border between those countries before joining the Nyabarongo River. The lower stretche ...
.
Now banana and sorghum are cultivated both upstream and downstream of the lake.
Lake Gacamirindi would normally be fed by the waters of the Akanyaru river, but as of 2011 was separated from this river by farmland and had become a small pond of a few hectares.
''
Typha domingensis
''Typha domingensis'', known commonly as southern cattail or cumbungi, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus '' Typha''.
Distribution and habitat
It is found throughout temperate and tropical regions worldwide. It is sometimes found as a ...
'' forms a very narrow belt around this pond, separating the crops and the water.
Lake Gacamirindi dried up in 2004, a period of normal precipitation.
Lake Narungazi
Lake Narungazi (french: Lac Narungazi), or Lake Narugazi, Lake Narunganzi, is a lake in the Commune of Ntega in Kirundo Province of Burundi.
Location
Lake Narungazi is in the Commune of Ntega, Kirundo Province, to the east of Mugendo.
It is we ...
and
Lake Nagitamo now supply water to Lake Gacamirindi through an canal connecting the lakes through the Rugege marsh.
There is a risk that this canal will lower the water level of the
Nyavyamo Marsh and
Lake Rwihinda
Lake Rwihinda (french: Lac Rwihinda, ), also known as the ''Lac aux Oiseaux'' (Bird Lake) is a lake in the Kirundo Province of Burundi.
It is home to diverse migratory birds, which are the main tourist attraction in the region. However, despite be ...
, particularly during periods of drought, when water no longer flows from the Akanyaru River to Lake Rwihinda.
Protection
In 2001 there was an attempt to create a buffer zone between the lake and the cultivated land, but it was not respected.
Lake Gacamirindi is now in the western part of the ''
Paysage aquatique protégé du Nord'' (Protected Aquatic Landscape of the North), created in 2011.
It is protected as an "Integral Zone", where human presence will be phased out.
A buffer zone, or belt of land at least wide, will be established around the lake.
References
Sources
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Gacamirindi
Gacamirindi