0171-B3
Bitanuzire Sebastian 1
The Republic of Rwanda, a hitherto little-known-about tiny land-locked state in Eastern Africa hit the international headlines where an unprecedented an unimaginable human tragedy with ethnic/political implications caused brutal genocide of nearly one million humans in a span of a few months during the early 90's.
When the entire international media, government and humanitarian machinery scampered to locate the whereabouts of Rwanda with intent to effect good will intervention, no sight was lost to the fact that the numerous lives so tragically and disastrously lost could not possibly be recovered.
This well covered and amply attended to subject is not my target of discussion to this conference but it is a major point of reference to an equally significant topic relevant to this conference.
In the period that closely preceded this genocide, the period itself and soon after the tragedy, a disaster which could arguably be described to have similar far-reaching implications occurred simultaneously but was not highlighted with similar zeal and intensity. This is the tragedy:
Nearly all the Rwandan forests, the ecosystem and the environment were also "murdered in cold blood" at the same time.
I wish to put to light this phenomenon of calamity to this conference.
My greatest pleasure however is to emphasise that unlike human lives, the forests and the environment are recoverable.
My service in the Republic of Rwanda is in the capacity of Chairman to the Board of Directors, elected from a union of many diverse and nationally distributed agri-business associations comprising of about 300,000 progressive farmers.
This union is locally known as SYNDICAT IMBARAGA which could be interpreted to mean - A syndicate of energetic workers.
I hereby undertake to draw the attention of this conference the magnitude of the forestry/environmental tragedy that befell Rwanda in the early 90s and take the pleasure to highlight the concerted efforts of energetic farmers to "resurrect" their ecosystem. And the environment
The Republic of Rwanda is by international standards a very small state covering only... square kilometers of land area inhabited by a population of only .. .... people. Its topography is dominated by the southern and south western corrugated highlands.
Being in the equatorial zone, its vegetation would have been dominated by forests if it were not for unfriendly human activity. The cultural background of its people is not any different from the typical third would inhabitants characterized by retrogressive land tenure and farming system, high mortality rates, low income levels and general underdevelopment.
What probably makes Rwanda unique is the cultural history of perpetual conflict between its two diverse ethnic inhabitants. I will however hasten to state categorically that our current government under the leadership of His Excellency Paul Kagame has gone a long way in pacifying this unique characteristic.
In its history as a colonial state and afterwards as an independent state, deliberate efforts have been dedicated to forest conservation as well as environment conservation and protection. It was therefore due to deliberate government efforts that the following were established though government policy.
Way back at the end of the 1950s intense ethnic/cultural conflict resulted into a mass exodus of refugees from Rwanda into the neighboring states of Congo Uganda and Burundi as well as other diverse states of the Diaspora. The events of the early 90s were a reversed of this exodus. Rwanda therefore did not only experience a heavy loss of lives at home but also a massive influx of long time absentee citizen and/or their descendants.
Forest/Environment tragedy.
This is how the forests and the environment were "murdered in cold blood" during the period of human conflict in the period of the early 90s:
In the period preceding the famous conflict in Rwanda there was so much pressure on civil and government implementers that diverted implementation from emphasis on non-human factors to people and their social status quo. The tree planting policy, forest conservation measures and bye-laws did not survive the lack of attention. For several years therefore, wanton forest destruction went on uncontrolled and unabated.
An army comprising mainly of descendants of the generation of refugees, converged on government forces at the beginning of the 90s. This would have had nothing to do with the forests if the existing forests had not been identified as good cover for camouflage and ambush operations. Cutting down of all forests with potential for camouflage or ambush by enemy forces (as defined by either side) was carried out as a matter of urgent policy of an inevitable security nature. This was the fate of most forests during the war period.
As a result of warfare, many avenues of business and entrepreneurship were not possible especially in towns, trading centers and main road-sides. Consequently, off-the-road business, especially charcoal burning in forest hideouts was lucrative business. The fact that government enforcement machinery had more urgent war-fare business to attend to only made matters worse.
It has already been noted that the war ended with an influx of numerous, new homeless citizens who were accorded very sympathetic sentiments from the newly established ruling government. Though legitimate citizens, hardly any new immigrant could establish any legitimates homestead of identity due to long time absenteeism of the family. Government therefore had the inevitable task of accommodating them as other citizens. There was no alternative but to de-gazette chunks of the National parks and forest reserves.
Immediately after the war, government took time to establish enforcement authority. Moreover official allocation of forest and game reserves indirectly implied that occupying them was no offence. Many people therefore took the opportunity to occupy the forests and game reserves. This contributed its tolll on massive distraction of the environment.
The major and significant forces which converged on the forests and ecological resources of the small Rwanda state and the resultant havoc in a short time go to justify my contention that the forests, the ecosystem and the environment were all "murdered in cold blood" to such an alarming extent that can be compared to the massacre of about one million people during the same period.
The only and overwhelming difference is that while the lost human lives are not recoverable, the environmental degradation can be reversed through deliberate human remedial policies and activities.
Let me therefore take the opportunity to present to this conference the deliberate efforts of over 300,000 energetic farmers in unison with sound government policy which are championing the cause of a regime of natural resource management that is slowly but surely re-establishing the forests, the ecosystem and the environment of our beloved Rwanda.
The syndicate of nationally distributed agribusiness associates who formed a union which they named IMBARAGA are not only farming to survive but have planned to emancipate their farming systems into small scale enterprises with visibility useful profit margins. They are however aware of the fact that this goal is not achievable in an environment that underwent such massive destruction.
Their multipurpose and multi-disciplinary approach in natural resource management and with special reference to forests, the ecosystem and the environment is being tacked with the following major activities:
1. Agro-forestry:
Our experience with the farming systems in the developing countries clearly shows that the campaign of re-aforestation suffers a silent set back if farmers are taught to plant trees which are not visibly beneficial to them. We have therefore adapted a policy of integrating tree planting with other crop agronomic systems but the tree species being propagated must of necessity be directly beneficial to the farmers. Our agro-forestry practices include the following trees:
2. Deliberate re-forestation
I have already shown that forests in Rwanda were cut down in a short time. My organization in collaboration with government has set up a mutually beneficial process of re-forestation. Farmers are allowed to plant their crops in gazzetted forest areas on condition that they preserve and look after the newly planted trees until such a time when the tree canopy makes it difficult for further cropping.
3. The tree nursery scheme
The Government and the Non-Government Organisations have started a scheme in collaboration with farmers whereby recommended tree seeds are issued out and farmers propagate and look after tree nurseries. The seedlings are then purchased from and are subsequently used in the re-forestation programme.
4. Education and sensitization for sustainability:
My organization - IMBARAGA - is a useful vehicle of education and sensitisation in the environmental advantages of forests. Not only does it comprise of many organized farmers but the members are direct stakeholders in a good environmental management regime
Let me conclude by reminding my listeners that the human lives which were lost by the Republic of Rwanda in the genocide of the early 90s will always be mourned but nothing can be done to recover them.
However; the forests reserves and parks which suffered a fate of comparable magnitude in the same period stand a greet chance of recovery. My organization - SYNDICAT IMBARAGA - is determined to play a leading role in their recovery program so as to subsequently benefit members as stakeholders in implementation of the poverty eradication strategy.
1 Email: [email protected]