Restoring forests and hope in the Great Lakes region of Central Africa
In the Great Lakes Region shared by Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, IUCN’s Landscapes & Livelihoods Strategy is working with the NGO Helpage Rwanda to promote the restoration of trees and forests on the slopes surrounding the lakes and on the edges of some important forest reserves. This is generating alternative jobs and new, long-term socio-economic infrastructures for supporting vulnerable communities.
The three countries are rich in natural resources. But large-scale, wanton deforestation, mainly by intensive charcoal burning, of the banks and water catchments of Lakes Tanganyika and Kivu is having a devastating effect on the ecosystems there.
The Helpage programme, through the efforts of 60,000 local men and women, has produced and planted 12 million seedlings, rehabilitated 200km of roads and revived the fishing economy by repopulating the lakes with salmon.
An overview of the sites in this region can be found here.
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