Nyungwe Forest

The Nyungwe Forest (/njʊŋɡweɪ/) is located in southwestern Rwanda, on the border with Burundi, where it is contiguous with the Kibira National Park to the south, and Lake Kivu and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west.

Nyungwe Forest was established in 2004 and covers an area of approximately 1,019 km2 (393 sq mi) of rainforest, bamboo, grassland, swamps, and bogs.

In October 2020, the Rwanda Development Board signed an agreement with African Parks to assume management for an initial 20 years.

The forest is situated in a region in which several large-scale biogeographical zones meet and the variety of terrestrial biomes provides a great span of microhabitats for many different species of plants and animals.

Enforcement was lax, and local people continued to use the forest for hunting, honey collection, woodcutting, subsistence farming, and gold mining.

In 1984, biodiversity surveys conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) with RDB documented colobus in groups of up to 400 members—an unheard of phenomenon.

Revenue supports conservation programs, infrastructure development, and job creation, with a long-term strategy aimed at balancing economic benefits with environmental protection.

Sunrise in Nyungwe
River in Nyungwe Park, Rwanda
Young chimpanzee in Nyungwe Forest National Park, Rwanda
Aerial view of the forest
Ruwenzori colobus unit