Special Rwanda

FORESTS IN RWANDA SUPPLY MAINLY FIREWOOD :

THE ECONOMY SEEMS FINE, BUT THERE’S STILL WORK TO BE DONE

Rwanda is one of the fastest growing economies in Central Africa, with growth of about 6 to 8% in recent years. Traditionally, the economy has relied on farming production, mainly of tea, coffee, bananas, and potatoes. Almost three quarters of the working population works in the farming sector. Nevertheless, Rwanda is now focusing increasingly on the service sector. The growth has improved the living standards of the average Rwandan citizen. For instance, in 2005, about 57% of Rwandans still lived below the poverty line of $1.25 per day, but by 2010 that figure had fallen to 45%.

Geography Rwanda is a small country in East Africa with a surface area of 26,338km². The country has no coastline. It lies a few degrees south of the equator. The hilly landscape of Rwanda is covered with grassland and small farms. In the north-west there is a volcanic area from where a mountain ridge stretches out in a south-easterly direction. This is the location of Mount Karisimbi, which, at 4507 metres, is the country’s highest mountain. The watershed of the river basin of the Nile and the

Congo runs along the west at a height of about 2743 metres. On the western flanks of this mountain ridge the country descends sharply towards Lake Kivu and the River Ruzizi valley. This region is part of the great African plain. The eastern slopes are more even with a nicely extensive hilly landscape which descends evenly towards the plains, marshes, and lakes in the eastern border region. This landscape has earned Rwanda the nickname ‘Land of a Thousand Hills’. The most remote watercourse of the Nile (i.e. the real source of the River Nile) arises in Nyungwe Forest. The water flows via the rivers Mwogo, Nyabarongo, and Kagera into Lake Victoria in Tanzania.

Politics The 2003 constitution replaced that of 1991. The constitution provides for a multi-party system and democratic elections. The new constitution limits the executive power of the president by setting up the office of prime minister, has a 30% quota of women for all public bodies, and replaces the one-chamber parliament with a two-chamber parliament. Since the 2013 election, the lower house of this parliament has had the largest share of women in the world (initially 64%; 61% on 1 January 2017).

Parties The leading party is the Rwandan Patriotic Front (FPR). The FPR was formerly a guerrilla movement of Tutsi refugees, but in 1994 it became a political party of moderate Hutus and Tutsis. Before June 1991, the National Revolutionary Movement for Development (MRND) was the only lawful party. The MRND claimed that it wasn’t a political party and that it represented all the population, but in reality it was a Hutu party. In 1991, the country introduced a multi-party system and the MRND changed its name to the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development (MRNDD). Besides the MRNDD and the FPR, there are some other parties: the MDR (Democratic Republican Movement), which is now prohibited, the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the Liberal Party (PL), the Rwandan Socialist Party (PSR), and the Christian Democratic Party (PDC). The latter is now known as the Centrist Democratic Party because parties are not allowed to have a religious ideology.

The economy in Rwanda Anyone wanting to do business in Rwanda would be well advised to get to know the country’s political background. The political situation has been stable for a few decades now, but that certainly wasn’t the case for a long time. After Rwanda gained independence in 1962, the country passed through stormy times. Tensions between the two main ethnic groups in the country, the Hutus and Tutsis, led to outbreaks of violence. In 1994, this escalated into a genocide aimed at the Tutsis, moderate Hutus, and the Twa (the original occupants of Rwanda).

Consolidation The situation has now changed and Rwanda is a stable and progressive land. Most of the 12 million inhabitants (2018) live spread around the countryside. Kigali is the capital of this presidential republic, Christianity is the main religion, and the official languages are French, English, and various Bantu languages. Rwanda borders on countries such as Uganda, Burundi, and Congo-Kinshasa.

Support from abroad The current economy of Rwanda revolves mainly around farming activities. The estimated figures are that 70% of people in employment work in farming. Rwanda exports coffee and tea, for instance, and, furthermore, the country also harbours some minerals such as coltan, tin, and tungsten. Revenue from tourism is growing strongly. In order to stimulate further growth, there are several aid organisations operating in Rwanda, which, for instance, invest in local enterprises or train those enterprises to get more from their business. At present, the country still depends on foreign aid for about 30 to 40% of its income.

Political will The Rwandan government itself is also doing a lot to stimulate the economy and improve living standards for the average Rwandan. For instance, the government is fully committed to the construction of new roads and buildings. On the one hand, this helps people to find employment and, on the other hand, it provides a better infrastructure to stimulate further growth. They are also investing in the electricity network. A large part of the population still has no electricity, but here, too, change should be on the way in the next few years. Furthermore, the government is aiming to move towards a knowledge economy instead of the present agricultural economy.

Forests in Rwanda In the period around 1995 after the genocide, many people feared that forests would disappear totally. The growing population in the country side was looking for farming land, firewood, and wood for building. There was a real threat of too many forests disappearing. It has emerged from data from the Mongabay web site that the use of wood for firewood in Rwanda rose by 60% between 1990 and 2005. Industrial wood cutting also increased during that period. Rwanda acknowledges the role of forests nowadays as absolutely essential to the health of the country. Millions of trees are now being planted each year in Rwanda. After the genocide of 1994, the forests had certainly well nigh disappeared in about 80% of the green ‘land of a thousand hills’. Rwanda is still losing original forests. For instance, Gishwati forest in the north-west of the country has almost been completely destroyed. However, the strong campaign for sustainable forest management has offset those losses.