Nature Rwanda

Nature Rwanda is a conservation organization based in Rwanda that works to protect biodiversity and ecosystems, restore degraded landscapes, improve sustainable livelihoods for local communities, and influence conservation policy. It began operating in 2016 and was formally registered as a non-profit civil society organization with the Rwanda Governance Board in 2019. Its stated philosophy is "Connecting People With Nature," and it places particular emphasis on conserving forests, wetlands and river ecosystems outside officially protected areas — landscapes that have historically lacked formal protection, dedicated research and strong advocacy voices in Rwanda. The organization frames its work around four strategic priorities: conserving threatened species and their habitats; restoring degraded ecosystems and landscapes; promoting sustainable livelihoods for people living with nature; and strengthening the development, implementation and enforcement of conservation policy. Its activities are based in Musanze and extend to sites including the Busaga Forest in Muhanga District, the Rusizi River and Lake Kivu basin, and areas around Nyungwe National Park. Nature Rwanda's flagship species work focuses on vultures. It notes that five of Rwanda's seven vulture species are threatened, and it has taken the initiative to conserve vultures such as the Hooded Vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus), a Critically Endangered species on the IUCN Red List. The organization has proposed establishing a small-scale vulture rescue and rehabilitation centre to fill a gap in Rwanda's rescue and rehabilitation capacity, aiming to ensure the survival of threatened vulture species through rehabilitation and release of victims of persecution, poisoning and poaching, research, and public education. It also conducts vulture tagging and population monitoring, and has publicized an estimate that the ecosystem service of carcass disposal provided by a single vulture is worth about US$11,000. In wetlands and waterbirds, Nature Rwanda monitors waterbirds and works on wetland conservation in Rwanda, linked to the International Waterbird Census framework. In forests, it leads protection and restoration of the approximately 152-hectare Busaga Forest, a montane rainforest in southern Muhanga District, including strengthened monitoring and patrol systems (such as SMART) and community-based governance involving residents of 18 surrounding villages. Since 2022, with support from the TerraFund for AFR100 — led by BirdLife International and the World Resources Institute — it has implemented a six-year collaborative project in the Lake Kivu–Rusizi River basin, targeting the Butare and Bweyeye sectors of Rusizi District to restore degraded farmland and landscapes and strengthen community climate adaptation. On livelihoods, the organization promotes agroforestry, fruit-tree cultivation, savings groups and ecotourism to help communities reduce over-reliance on natural resources. It also works on pollinator conservation and agricultural landscapes, conducting seasonal field surveys in ten agro-ecosystems in Rwanda. On policy, it engages with institutions including the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB). Internationally, Nature Rwanda became an official partner of BirdLife International in 2023, described as BirdLife's 27th partner in Africa. It collaborates with the Association Burundaise pour la protection de la Nature (ABN) in Burundi on transboundary basin conservation and restoration under the Climate Resilient Altitudinal Gradients (CRAG) framework, covering a transboundary basin that includes 15 Key Biodiversity Areas and provides habitat for 71 threatened and endemic species. It is also positioned as an implementing partner in BirdLife's flyway conservation initiatives in Africa and has engaged with the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) framework.

Nature Rwanda's founding was driven by a recognition that conservation efforts in Rwanda had historically centred on existing protected areas such as Volcanoes National Park, Nyungwe National Park and Akagera National Park, while forests, wetlands and rivers outside protected-area boundaries largely lacked legal protection, dedicated research and advocacy. According to the organization's own account, these out-of-protected-area ecosystems functioned as biodiversity "fragments" scattered within landscapes heavily affected by human activity, yet their ecological and social importance was rarely considered in mainstream conservation discourse. This "sustained silence" — rather than the visibility of the problem itself — was described as the starting point for change. At the same time, these ecosystems are places on which surrounding communities depend heavily for water, food and livelihoods, making human–nature coexistence an urgent challenge and a founding motivation. The organization was co-founded by Jean Claude Dusabimana, who grew up near the Twin Lakes in Rwanda's Northern Province and specializes in conservation biology as well as environmental economics and natural resource management. Dusabimana also has experience as an educator and filmmaker and has emphasized community-based conservation storytelling. Prudence Ndabasanze was also involved as a co-founder and currently serves as board chair. Nature Rwanda began operating in 2016 and obtained legal personality and formal registration from the Rwanda Governance Board in 2019. In 2023, BirdLife International announced that it had formally welcomed Nature Rwanda as its 27th partner organization in Africa. BirdLife assessed that Nature Rwanda's direction — emphasizing community-based conservation models and large-scale restoration and recovery activities — aligned with the philosophy of the BirdLife partnership. Previously, Rwanda's official BirdLife International partner had long been the Association pour la Conservation de la Nature au Rwanda (ACNR), which worked with organizations including Wetlands International and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on Important Bird Areas such as the Akanyaru and Nyabarongo wetlands. Nature Rwanda works with the Association Burundaise pour la protection de la Nature (ABN), BirdLife's partner in neighbouring Burundi, on transboundary basin conservation and restoration under the Climate Resilient Altitudinal Gradients (CRAG) framework in the Lake Kivu–Rusizi River basin. This transboundary basin includes 15 Key Biodiversity Areas and is habitat for 71 threatened and endemic species. Nature Kenya, Nature Uganda, ABN and ACNR — then Rwanda's partner — had also cooperated on a cross-regional project aimed at poverty reduction and biodiversity conservation in the Lake Victoria basin. BirdLife International promotes flyway conservation initiatives worldwide, and Nature Rwanda is positioned as one of its implementing partners in the African region. Rwanda's wetlands are important wintering and stopover sites for migratory birds arriving from the Palearctic, a key basis for their designation as Important Bird Areas. Since the mid-2020s, Nature Rwanda has also engaged with the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) framework in regional waterbird and wetland conservation, focusing on migratory waterbirds and wetlands in Rwanda and the Great Lakes region. The COVID-19 pandemic caused major disruption to Nature Rwanda's operations, as it did for civil society organizations worldwide. Board chair Prudence Ndabasanze recalled that amid the pandemic's "unprecedented disruption," the organization demonstrated resilience under difficult circumstances and that this became an opportunity to consider long-term financial sustainability planning. The 2023 BirdLife International partnership marked a major turning point in terms of access to international funding and technical support and the sharing of expertise. Selection multiple times as a recipient of international landscape restoration funding such as TerraFund for AFR100 also contributed to the expansion of the organization's activities.

• 2023

  Becomes an official partner of BirdLife International, its 27th partner in Africa.

• 2022

  Begins a six-year collaborative project in the Lake Kivu–Rusizi River basin with support from TerraFund for AFR100.

• 2019

  Formally registered as a non-profit civil society organization with the Rwanda Governance Board.

• 2016

  Nature Rwanda begins operating.

A community-based Rwandan conservation organization focused on biodiversity and ecosystems outside protected areas, connecting people with nature through science-informed action and partnerships.

• Vulture conservation and proposed Vulture Rescue and Rehab Centre

  Aims to ensure the survival of threatened vulture species in Rwanda through rehabilitation and release of victims of persecution, poisoning and poaching, research, and public education.

• Busaga Forest protection and restoration

  Leads protection and restoration of the approximately 152-hectare Busaga Forest, including SMART-based monitoring and community governance involving 18 villages.

• Lake Kivu–Rusizi basin restoration

  A six-year project targeting the Butare and Bweyeye sectors of Rusizi District to restore degraded farmland and landscapes and strengthen climate adaptation.

• Sustainable livelihoods programmes

  Agroforestry, fruit-tree cultivation, savings groups and ecotourism to reduce over-reliance on natural resources.

• Waterbird and wetland monitoring

  Monitoring waterbirds and conserving wetlands in Rwanda, linked to the International Waterbird Census framework.

1. 1Nature Rwanda – Connecting People With Naturenaturerwanda.org
2. 2Promote Sustainable Livelihoods – Nature Rwandanaturerwanda.org
3. 3Restore Degraded Ecosystems – Nature Rwandanaturerwanda.org
4. 4Conserve Threatened Species – Nature Rwandanaturerwanda.org
5. 5Nature Rwanda – Wikidatawikidata.org
6. 6ネイチャー・ルワンダ – Wikipediaja.wikipedia.org