Community Development

Through its community development strategy, Akagera National Park is increasingly interwoven into the fabric of its neighbouring communities. Working with the more than 500,000 people living in these areas is critical to the park’s long-term viability. Over ten years of community development, ensuring that the park delivers tangible benefits to local communities, have made Akagera a source of pride and a valued asset in the region.

Akagera plays a key role in keeping communication channels open, from the government level to village meetings where two-way conversations take place. Over 18,000 community members participate annually in gatherings to discuss conservation and human-wildlife conflict issues, and engage with cooperatives to assist in business development. Sporting events are regularly hosted by the park – for example, the annual Rhino Velo Bike Race, Lion’s Football Cup and Rhino Foot Race – bringing together some 25,000 spectators, and building goodwill and positive relations, while conveying anti-poaching and community development messages. Annual environmental film shows reach over 33,000 people. 

In addition to building and supporting schools, Akagera educates local schoolchildren on the importance of biodiversity, which is critical to creating a constituency for conservation. Regular Eco-Club teacher training and 40 Eco-Club events help convey strong conservation messages to nearly 2,000 members yearly. In 2024, a competition between schools neighbouring the park was run, focusing on climate change and conservation. Students showcased their understanding through creative presentations, including poems, songs, and theatrical performances, during the final events, which drew 8,500 attendees comprising students, teachers, parents and community members. 

The park hosts regular environmental education awareness sessions each year, with over 2,000 students and 214 teachers visiting in the past year. Each visit includes a safari through the park, followed by a learning session at the Savannah Learning Centre, during which the children take a quiz on their knowledge of conservation and park ecology. 

A culture of reading is being nurtured, and in 2024, a competition for six schools, utilising resources from both school and local libraries, attracted over 3,700 attendees. The event celebrated exceptional readers and storytellers, with winners receiving educational supplies and all schools receiving sports equipment.

Akagera’s income-generating activities enhance the acceleration of economic development, advancing the benefits of a conservation-led economy, and includes projects such as honey harvesting, a fishing cooperative, and a women’s chicken cooperative. Training of cooperatives in beekeeping has resulted in an increase in beehives and the introduction of value-added beeswax products. Business plan training is conducted for cooperatives, equipping members with strategic planning skills for sustainable growth.

One of Akagera’s mandates is to create sustainable socio-economic enterprises that alleviate poverty and enhance the livelihoods of local communities. Gishanda Fish Farm, launched in 2022 in collaboration with FoodTechAfrica and supported by the Rwandan and Dutch governments, is a flagship project that offers community members an accessible protein source of tilapia, while enhancing sustainable farming methods and providing new skills and jobs. The establishment of Gishanda has resulted in the creation of multiple permanent and casual jobs, the electrification of two villages, a primary school constructed that receives clean water from the farm’s boreholes, and the creation of a community-run organic vegetable farm, fertilised by the farm’s wastewater.

During 2024, eight fishing cooperatives received training in catfish farming and sustainable fishing and processing, while restocking initiatives boosted local fish supplies. This particular cooperative operates in an area with a significant hippo population and is an advocate for mitigation measures to avoid human-wildlife conflict and promote coexistence, as it appreciates the contribution hippo make to the health of the waterway and consequent success in its fish off-takes. Aside from providing affordable protein to the community around the park, the farm is helping to replenish fish stocks in lakes and dams in the region – restocking Munini Dam with 13,500 fingerlings, and Buhabwa Dam with 2,500 fingerlings. 

Infrastructure projects that improve the quality of life for local communities have expanded year on year. Such projects include constructing schools, health centres, and libraries; building water-provision sites; and helping to develop local associations and small enterprises. The community team continues to organise groups of school children to visit the Community Library, stocked with books from BookAid International, throughout the year.

Approximately 40,000 indigenous seedlings are produced annually and planted across various sites, including schools and roadsides. Several eco-friendly initiatives rolled out in the past year include the introduction of clean cookstoves, operating on agroforestry waste pellets and reducing costs by 50% compared to gas cookers, and a new solar hot water system at Gishanda.