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By Annonciata Byukusenge
Rwandan women play a crucial role in environmental conservation, yet their contributions to forest preservation often go unrecognized. As the country is fighting against deforestation driven by charcoal production, agriculture, and urban expansion, empowering women with sustainable alternatives and community leadership opportunities is key. From adopting eco-friendly cooking solutions to engaging in reforestation projects, women are at the forefront of conservation efforts.
We cannot succeed in reforestation without a woman’s voice, because if women embrace reforestation policies, the nation embraces reforestation policies. In different areas, women order the children to collect firewood from the forest. To resolve this problem, women must be on top to embrace sustainability solutions. Women can play a crucial role in forest conservation through various means, leveraging their unique positions in society, communities, and households.
Nyamagabe is a district in Rwanda’s Southern Province, with Gasaka as its capital. It is located between the former Butare (now Huye) and Cyangugu (now Rusizi) regions and was part of Gikongoro Province until 2006. The district includes the eastern half of Nyungwe Forest, a key tourist destination and one of Rwanda’s last remaining forests, home to chimpanzees and a diverse range of primate species.
Wivine Muhorakeye wakes up at five every morning. Her main activity is farming potatoes, maize, and peas on a small 5-hectare farm located in Kizimyamuriro, a remote rural village in the Buruhukiro sector, Nyamagabe district, in southern Rwanda.
The 38-year-old mother never envisioned that her efforts in the fields would pave the way for women workers in her remote village to contribute to forest conservation.
“Women are now playing a vital role in the environmental conservation especially forest, contributing to current national efforts towards improving forest conservation,” she said.
In the Nyamagabe district, Kaduha sector parents order kids to collect firewood in the forest/ Photo: Annonciata.
Throughout the world, women oversee the management of forests and agricultural land and the provision of water, food, and fuel. Women are more concerned about environmental issues. Their contribution to biodiversity preservation is significant. https://cwejournal.org/vol2no2/pwomen-at-the-forefront-of-environmental-conservationp
In Rwanda, women play a significant role in environmental conservation, particularly in grassroots efforts like land restoration, tree planting, and sustainable farming practices, often leading initiatives within their communities due to their deep connection to the land as a majority of smallholder farmers, making their participation crucial for sustainable development. However, challenges remain in fully integrating women into leadership positions within environmental organizations.
In 2022, Muhorakeye attended training on the environment and conservation. After this training, she started the campaign to encourage other women to participate in forest conservation, because they had the same understanding of contributing to deforestation in Nyungwe National Park.
In the Buruhukiro sector, people cut down trees and plant tea without a policy of restoration/ Photo: Annonciata.
“Some of the women collected wood for sale and use in their households. Not wood only, because they killed animals in this park for meat others for traditional medicine and traditional beliefs.” Said Muhorakeye.
The status of deforestation in the Nyamagabe district
Deforestation in Nyamagabe District, Rwanda is a problem driven by agriculture and charcoal production.
Nyamagabe, South province, Rwanda Deforestation Rates, and Statistics according to the Global Forest Watch (GFW). In 2020, Nyamagabe had 22.1k, ha of natural forest, extending over 20% of its land area. In 2023, it lost 34 ha of natural forest, equivalent to 517 kt of CO₂ emissions.
This is the remains part of the forest at the tea plantation/ Photo: Annonciata.
From 2002 to 2023, Nyamagabe lost 28 ha of humid primary forest, making up 0.67% of its total tree cover loss in the same period. The total area of humid primary forest in Nyamagabe decreased by 0.53% in this period.
How Muhorakeye engaged in forest conservation with other women in her village
During that training in environment and conservation, they gained different skills on the environment especially coping with deforestation in the Buruhukiro sector, which is located near Nyungwe National Park.
“The important skills I gained in the training are to craft cooking stoves and to build them in the kitchen. In the closing remarks of the training, Biodiversity Conservation Organization (BIOCOOR) said that if a woman is interested in mobilizing others, she would be supported. After one week I talked to them about how I am interested in informing women about the impact of deforestation on our lives.”
Is not interested in participating in forest conservation, because there are cases of deforestation reported by the Rwanda National Police(RNP), that in 2020 some people were arrested while cutting trees for burning charcoal in a protected forest. RNP reported.
In the Gisagara district deforestation caused by charcoal/ Photo: Annonciata.
Muhorakeye after receiving a machine for crafting stoves, started to distribute them to her neighbors.
“I did a campaign from household to household and informed them how those stoves will help us to reduce the firewood we use and avoid deforestation in the Nyungwe forest.”
Epiphany Ugizimana is a 58-year-old woman who lives in Kivungu village, Kizimyamuriro cell, Buruhukiro sector, Nyamagabe district.
She is the first woman who is interested in accepting the modern stoves in her kitchen, after many days. She is saying how she was contributing to deforestation.
“I contributed to deforestation many years ago because lack of information on forest conservation. From my childhood, I collected wood in the Nyungwe forest with other kids. I continued until I was a young girl. Now I am an old Mum. I regret how I contributed to the deforestation when I was able to protect the environment, especially the forest.”
“In 2022, the Biodiversity Conservation Organization (BIOCOOR) started a campaign in our village and told us how deforestation contributes to climate change. They focused on the community living near Nyungwe National Park including my village. I didn’t understand immediately because it was the first time I heard that we can use two pieces of wood per week.” Ugizimana added.
“I used ten pieces of wood per week. Those woods were collected from the Nyungwe forest. Many times, I spent the whole day in the Nyungwe and when I found an animal for meat, I killed it.”
Traditional stoves she used before to participate in forest conservation/ Photo: Annonciata.
Before using a cooking stove, she was using a traditional stove. For one month, she spent money on wood, but now she uses less wood.
“I bought wood for 10 thousand Rwanda francs (10.000 Rwfrs) without wood we collected from Nyungwe National Park because I used a traditional stove. Now I buy firewood for five thousand Rwandan francs because modern stoves use less wood.” Ugizimana said.
Epiphanie Ugizimana is cooking food for her pigs/ Photo: Annonciata.
Now she participating in the environmental conservation group with other women in her village.
“I am in the environmental conservation group with Muhorakeye and we engaged our young people in the environment group.”
The entrance of Epiphany’s kitchen/ Photo: Annonciata.
Youth engagement in environmental conservation
Muhorakeye and other women reformed and contributed to the mobilization of engaging youth in a campaign to cope with deforestation in her village because their parents ordered them to collect wood.
Chréophas Barore is a young with 25 years old. He expresses his emotions after joining the environmental group in his village with Mums.
“I knew the information about environmental protection when I was in secondary school in 2016. I was a member of the environmental club but in the holidays, I stayed at home because there was no movement about the environment in my village.”
Kizimyamuriro Center in the Buruhukiro Sector/Photo: Annonciata.
Once in the holiday, he met with Madam, Muhorakeye and she asked him if he could be interested in the environmental group.
“I told her that I was in the environmental club at school, but I was interested in joining the group in my village. I started to work with her in 2022 and we crafted the stoves after we built them in the kitchen of the household which were interesting.”
IUCN stands for Forest Conservation in East Rwanda
Nyirabagande Beatrice is a beneficiary of IUCN. She is married with six children; and resides in Nyagatare District, Rwimiyaga Sector, Kabeza Cell, and Rucyiri I Village. Nyirabagande, who has been using traditional three-stone fires all her life, has used an improved cook stove from the AREECA project for a year.
For Nyirabagande, using an improved cook stove helps her save time, effort, money, and possible bodily harm, especially eyes that smoke could affect.
IUCN provided stoves to the Nyagatare community/ Photo: IUCN
“Stoves improve quality of life by reducing exposure to smoke. As a result, lives are saved, deforestation is slowed down as stoves consume very little firewood, and greenhouse gas emissions are significantly reduced”, she stated. She added that she could now invest more time in income-generating activities instead of wasting most of his time collecting firewood.
Nyirabagande acknowledges the benefits of improved cookstoves/ Photo: IUCN.
Nyirabagande insisted on the reduced firewood by saying that one firewood used in the morning to heat the stove works the whole day.
In 2022 and 2023, 1000 community members in the Rwimiyaga sector of Nyagatare District, and the Nyamugari Sector of Kirehe District were experiencing improved cook stoves donated by the Alliance for Restoration of Forest Landscapes and Ecosystems in Africa (AREECA).
Women in Nyagatare engaged in agroforest/ Photo: IUCN.
Challenges
The main challenge is the mindset of using traditional stoves that have three stones. Many people know that to put many wood in the stoves helps them to cook quickly.
“They do not think about the impact of the climate change and indoor emissions gas contribute to the air pollution. But the people who changed their behaviors, now they are the pieces of evidence of using modern stoves.” Said Muhorakeye.
How women engaged in the forest conservation
Dr. Ange Imanishimwe is the Executive Country Director of the Biodiversity Conservation Organization (BIOCOOR). An interview with Forefront Magazine, says that the Buruhukiro sector in the Nyamagabe district had a unique case of deforestation many years ago. This case caused BIOCOOR to have an idea of working with women in contributing to forest conservation in this area.
“The Buruhukiro sector was a part of Nyungwe National Park, but this sector became a habitant area, with residents receiving permits to build and land being legally registered. This has resulted in the disappearance of a large part of the Nyungwe forest.”
He added that the Buruhukiro community had the attitude of eating meat from the Nyungwe forest, using wood from the Nyungwe forest, and building their house in the trees from Nyungwe.
We decided to work with women because their main activity was to collect wood in the Nyungwe forest. We educated them on the importance of protecting forests.
“We trained them how to craft modern cooking stoves, install them in the kitchens, to explain to the community how those stoves work. After the training, they conducted campaigns for forest conservation themselves.” Dr. Imanishimwe added.
In his own words, Dr. Ange Imanishimwe says, “We achieved our goals because we worked with women.”
Status of Forest in Rwanda
Forest Cover in Rwanda (Total: 724,695 hectares / 30.4% of Land Area)
Key Insights:
Rwanda has 30.4% forest coverage, including diverse ecosystems. The majority (53.5%) are plantations, while only 18.1% are natural mountain rainforests. Conservation efforts focus on reforestation and sustainable forest management. ( Ministry of Environment).
