Lake Narungazi (french: Lac Narungazi), or Lake Narugazi, Lake Narunganzi, is a lake in the

Commune of Ntega The commune of Ntega is a commune of Kirundo Province Kirundo Province is one of the eighteen provinces of Burundi. Kirundo has three big lakes: Cohoha, Rweru, and Rwihinda. Lakes Cohoha and Rweru are located in commune Busone, and Lake Rwihi ...

in 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 Narungazi is in the

, Kirundo Province, to the east of Mugendo. It is west of

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 ...

and south of Lake Nagitamo. It covers an area of in a valley at an altitude of bordered by the '' collines'' Nyange–Kiriringanire and Kanyarwe–Mwunguko, which reach an altitude of .

Environment

Lake Narungazi is in the Nyavyamo ''

cyperus papyrus ''Cyperus papyrus'', better known by the common names papyrus, papyrus sedge, paper reed, Indian matting plant, or Nile grass, is a species of aquatic flowering plant belonging to the sedge family Cyperaceae. It is a tender herbaceous perenn ...

'' swamp which extends east from 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 ...

and includes Lake Nagitamo and

. Upstream of Lake Narungazi, the Nyavyamo marsh is used for the cultivation of

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...

. The southern branch of Lake Narungazi, between the ''collines'' of Kanyago the east and Mugendo to the west, extends through Narungazi marsh, which is used for cultivation of rice up to the edge of the water, apart from some fragments of ''

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 ...

'' and some tufts of '' Phragmites''. Lake Gacamirindi dried up in 2004, a period of normal precipitation. Lake Narungazi 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

, particularly during periods of drought, when water no longer flows from the Akanyaru River to Lake Rwihinda.

Conservation

Lake Narungazi is part of the

Protected Aquatic Landscape of the North The Protected Aquatic Landscape of the North (french: Paysage Aquatique Protégé du Nord), also called the Northern Protected Waterway or Northern Protected Waterscape, is a protected area in Kirundo Province, Burundi. It covers eight lakes in the ...

(french: Paysage Aquatique Protégé du Nord), a complex of 8 permanent freshwater lakes including lakes Rweru, Cohoha, Rwihinda, Kanzigiri, Gacamirindi, Nagitamo, Narungazi and Mwungere as well as marshes, that form part of the Nile Basin. These lakes are dominated by small Tilapia and Oreochromis species. They have been the site of largescale invasions of water hyacinth, which has greatly decreased production and reduced fish stocks, as well as crowded out native vegetation. Burundi has taken little effort to remove the invasive species. In October 2013 it was reported that an entrepreneur had introduced new species of fish to the lake. The local people thought ha had added harmful chemicals to the water to protect the fish, and they were no longer allowed to use the water. An official from the Ministry of the Environment said the proper permits had been issued. The entrepreneur denied adding anything other than a ton of tilapia from

Lake Rweru Lake Rweru is a lake close to the northernmost point of Burundi in central Africa. The northern shore of the lake forms part of Burundi's border with Rwanda. It is the most distant origin point of the Nile River. The Kagera River, considered by ...

to the water. It seemed from the report that there were some restrictions on fishing for the first year.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{refend Narungazi Narungazi