allAfrica.com: Rwanda: A Week of Celebrating Wildlife Conservation (Page 1 of 1)

The Rwandan Office for Tourism and National Parks (ORTPN) initiated the gorilla naming ceremony as a way to celebrate conservation success, raise awareness of the gorillas and promote Rwanda as a tourist destination. In 2007, the ceremony received the brand name Kwita Izina, referring to the century-old traditional Rwandan ceremony of naming new-born children.

This year's ceremony, which took place on Saturday, was held under the theme "Working together for our wildlife", through which ORTPN wants to celebrate the efforts of all those that have contributed to the welfare of the wildlife and its conservation, and give the opportunity to everyone to contribute to the sustainability of conservation for wildlife. Twenty baby gorillas were named during the event, which saw the attendance of hundreds of national and international personalities.

However, what made this year's Kwita Izina different from previous editions, was the fact that in the run-up to the ceremony various other events have been organized. For instance, on Tuesday a gorilla statue was unveiled close to the ORTPN headquarters in Kigali.

Yet the most significant event was a one-day conference on Thursday, which aimed at articulating proposals and recommendations for a better wildlife conservation strategy.

State Minister Romain Mulenzi, who opened the conference, noted that, "it is of crucial importance to be able to balance economic demands with ecological conservation."

As an example, he mentioned bio-prospecting, which consists of searching for and colleting genetic material in nature which can be used in commercialized end products.

"By using natural resources in a sustainable way to generate income for local people, we can greatly enhance the sustainability of conservation efforts," Minister Murenzi said.

He also pointed out that much progress has been made in Rwanda conservation of the environment and the protected areas. "I note that environmental and land laws have been enacted, and corresponding agencies established. Various other key measures have been taken in the areas of conservation, and particular success has been achieved in the area of gorilla conservation," Romain Murenzi remarked.

Spill-over effect

"We are seeing the energizing impact of gorilla conservation on the overall wildlife regime in Rwanda," the director of ORTPN, Chantal Rosette Rugamba pointed out, referring to the fact that the mountain gorillas have always been the biggest tourist magnet of the country, yet that over the last few years there has been a spill-over effect with gorilla visitors also discovering other wildlife attractions in the country. The launch of the new bird-watching tours last year, for example, testifies to that.

Another important aspect in Rwanda's conservation strategy is the recognition of the role of communities living close to protected areas.

Through sensitization and the allocation of part of the tourism revenue to development projects in those regions, the local population has slowly but surely come to realize the importance of conservation. A good sign of this is that numerous poachers have now given up their trade.

"I wouldn't wish to go back to poaching, however long I might have to go without meat," testified Munyarukiko Muzirampuhwe, a former poacher, at the conference. "I now realize that wildlife and our welfare are closely linked, and I wouldn't do anything that harms the animals anymore," he said.

Muzirampuhwe claimed to have been involved in the killing of as many as 300 buffalos. Hunting wildlife for meat and other resources was once a way of life for thousands of local residents, yet as the benefits of tourism become increasingly evident to the community, many are turning in their skills to conservation.

Muzirampuhwe himself has abandoned poaching several years ago, and is now involved in the arts and crafts business.

Gorilla twins

Given that the conference was organized in the run-up to the Kwita Izina ceremony, it was also an occasion to give an overview of the achievements concerning gorilla protection.

"75% of the mountain gorillas living on Rwandan territory are visited by humans at a ratio of between 2,000 and 3,000 persons per gorilla annually," Dr. Lucy Spelman, regional veterinary field manager for the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project (MGVP), explained.

Spelman confirmed that continued success of preservation of any endangered species is closely tied to human wealth and welfare amongst the surrounding populations.

She also pointed out the delicate balance between tourism, wildlife conservation and local communities. MGVP attends to the gorillas so that tourists can visit them, which in turn generates revenue for further conservation, she explained.

Yet it is vital that tourism also benefits the local people. "There is no way you can keep the animals safe and healthy if the people living next to the park are poor and sick," Lucy Spelman argued.

The success of Rwanda's gorilla conservation program is also evidenced by the fact that the world's only surviving gorilla twins are living in Volcanoes National Park.

The twins, which celebrated their fourth birthday on May 20, were during the first Kwita Izina baptized Byishimo and Impano by President Paul Kagame and First Lady Jeanette Kagame. The now juvenile pair has become not only the object of great interest to scientists but also the centre of attraction in the Susa family of gorillas.

"When the twins were born in 2004, nobody could have imagined seeing both infants living to their fourth birthday," ORTPN director Chantal Rugamba said. "Not only is the birth of twins among gorillas very rare, but even when it happens, the survival of both twins is extremely unusual."

Many happy returns!

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