The Nyungwe Forest () is located in southwestern Rwanda, on the border with Burundi, where it is contiguous with the Kibira National Park to the south, and

Lake Kivu Lake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes. It lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and is in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift. Lake Kivu empties into the Ruzizi River, whic ...

and the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

to the west. The Nyungwe rainforest is probably the best preserved montane rainforest in Africa. It is located in the watershed between the basin of the

river Congo The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...

to the west and the basin of the river

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...

to the east. From the east side of the Nyungwe forest comes also one of the branches of the Nile sources. Nyungwe National Park was established in 2004 and covers an area of approximately of rainforest,

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

, swamps, and bogs. The nearest town is

Cyangugu Cyangugu (formerly Shangugu) is a city and capital of the Rusizi District in Western Province, Rwanda. The city lies at the southern end of Lake Kivu, and is contiguous with Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, but separated from it by th ...

, to the west. Mount Bigugu () is located within the park borders. In October 2020, the

Rwanda Development Board Rwanda Development Board (RDB), is a government department that integrates all government agencies responsible for the attraction, retention and facilitation of investments in the national economy. Location The headquarters of RDB are located on K ...

signed an agreement with African Parks to assume management of Nyungwe National Park for an initial 20 years.

Animal life

The Nyungwe forest has a wide diversity of animal species, making it a priority for conservation in Africa. The forest is situated in a region in which several large-scale biogeographical zones meet and the variety of terrestrial

biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...

s provides a great span of

microhabitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s for many different species of plants and animals. The park contains 13 primate species (25% of Africa's total), 275 bird species, 1068 plant species, 85 mammal species, 32 amphibian and 38 reptile species. Many of these animals are restricted-range species that are only found in the Albertine Rift montane forests ecoregion in Africa. In fact, the number of endemic species found here is greater than in any other forest in the

Albertine Rift Mountains The Albertine Rift is the western branch of the East African Rift, covering parts of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. It extends from the northern end of Lake Albert to the southern end of Lake ...

that has been surveyed. The forest, which reaches its maximum altitude of 3000 meters above sea level, is of particular interest for the presence of colonies of chimpanzees (''Pan troglodytes'') and

Angola colobus The Angola colobus (''Colobus angolensis''), Angolan black-and-white colobus, or Angolan colobus is a primate species of Old World monkey belonging to the genus ''Colobus''. Taxonomy There are six recognized subspecies and one undescribed sub ...

(''Colobus angolensis''), the latter now extinct in Angola for the intense hunt to which they were subjected.

Primate species

* Common chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes'') *

Ruwenzori colobus The Ruwenzori colobus (''Colobus angolensis ruwenzorii''), also known as Ruwenzori black-and-white colobus, is a subspecies of the Angola colobus. This primate is distributed from the Afromontane forests of the Ruwenzori Mountains across the mount ...

(''Colobus angolensis ruwenzori'') *

L'Hoest's monkey L'Hoest's monkey (''Allochrocebus lhoesti'') or mountain monkey, is a guenon found in the upper eastern Congo basin. They mostly live in mountainous forest areas in small, female-dominated groups. They have a dark coat and can be distinguishe ...

(''Cercopithecus l'hoesti'') *

Silver monkey The silver monkey (''Cercopithecus doggetti'') is a species of Old World monkey found primarily in East Africa. Its range includes Burundi, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The silver monkey was previously consi ...

(''Cercopithecus doggetti'') *

Golden monkey The golden monkey (''Cercopithecus kandti'') is a species of Old World monkey found in the Virunga volcanic mountains of Central Africa, including four national parks: Mgahinga, in south-west Uganda; Volcanoes, in north-west Rwanda; and Vi ...

(''Cercopithecus kandti'') * Hamlyn's monkey (''Cercopithecus hamlyni'') *

Red-tailed monkey The red-tailed monkey (''Cercopithecus ascanius''), also known as the black-cheeked white-nosed monkey, red-tailed guenon, redtail monkey, or Schmidt's guenon, is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. It is found in Angola, Cameroo ...

(''Cercopithecus ascanius'') *

Dent's mona monkey Dent's mona monkey (''Cercopithecus denti'') is an Old World monkey in the family Cercopithecidae found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Congo, Rwanda, western Uganda, and the Central African Republic. It was previously classified ...

(''Cercopithecus denti'') *

Vervet monkey The vervet monkey (''Chlorocebus pygerythrus''), or simply vervet, is an Old World monkey of the family Cercopithecidae native to Africa. The term "vervet" is also used to refer to all the members of the genus ''Chlorocebus''. The five distinct ...

(''Chlorocebus pygerythrus'') *

Olive baboon The olive baboon (''Papio anubis''), also called the Anubis baboon, is a member of the family Cercopithecidae Old World monkeys. The species is the most wide-ranging of all baboons, being native to 25 countries throughout Africa, extending fr ...

(''Papio anubis'') * Grey-cheeked mangabey (''Lophocebus albigena'')

History

Nyungwe Forest Reserve was established in 1933 by the Belgian colonial government. In the 1920s the colonial government had become concerned about the accelerating conversion of forest to pasture. The laws governing Rwanda's forest reserves prohibited clearing forests for agriculture, but maintained community rights to cut and collect firewood, and permitted commercial exploitation of valuable hardwood timber. Enforcement was lax, and local people continued to use the forest for hunting, honey collection, woodcutting, subsistence farming, and gold mining. Rwanda became independent in 1962, and the country's forest reserves were managed by the Ministry of Agriculture. From 1958 to 1973, Nyungwe Forest was reduced by over 150 km² due to fires, woodcutting, hunting of animals, and small-scale agriculture. Nearby Gishwati and Virunga forests were cut in half at this time. In 1969, elephants still numbered in the hundreds in Nyungwe. In 1974, the last buffalo was killed in Nyungwe by hunters. In 1984, Nyungwe was divided into areas that allow for sustainable use and harvesting of timber. The Government of Rwanda developed a plan for a buffer zone that can still be seen today. In 1984, biodiversity surveys conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) with RDB documented colobus in groups of up to 400 members—an unheard of phenomenon. In 1987, development of the trail system began at Uwinka. In 1994, war and genocide devastated the country and destroyed many of the research and tourist facilities in Uwinka. Most senior staff were forced to flee, but many junior staff members at Nyungwe stayed on to protect the park. The park began to rebuild in 1995, but security and stability were still uncertain. In 1999, the last elephant in Nyungwe was killed in the swamp by poachers. In 2005, the Rwandan Government made Nyungwe an official National Park, giving it protected status, the highest level of protection in the country.

References

* * *

External links

* * {{authority control Western Province, Rwanda National parks of Rwanda Forests of Rwanda Protected areas established in 2004 Albertine Rift montane forests Southern Province, Rwanda