URBAN WETLANDS in the Core of Africa PROTECTION and CREATION of URBAN WETLAND LANDSCAPE in KIGALI, RWANDA
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URBAN WETLANDS in the core of Africa PROTECTION AND CREATION OF URBAN WETLAND LANDSCAPE IN KIGALI, RWANDA Oana Baloi Wageningen University and Research Centre URBAN WETLANDS in the core of Africa PROTECTION AND CREATION OF URBAN WETLAND LANDSCAPE IN KIGALI, RWANDA Wageningen, February 2014 Wageningen Univeristy and Research Centre Master Landscape Architecture and Planning Major Thesis Landscape Architecture [LAR-80430] Colophon In collaboration with Oana Baloi Rwanda One Stop Centre for Urban Planning and Construction [email protected] Surbana International Consultants Pte Ltd Rwanda Environmental Management Authority All rights reserved. King David Academy Kigali No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of either the authors or Supported by the Wageningen University Landscape Architecture Chair- group. This publication is written as a final master thesis in landscape architecture by order of the chairgroup Stichting Rwanda Solidair of landscape architecture at Wageningen University. Chairgroup landscape architecture E-mail: offi [email protected] www.lar.wur.nl Post address Visiting address Postbus 47 Gaia (building no. 101) Stichting NHBOS 6700 AA, Wageningen Droevendaalsesteeg 3 The Netherlands 6708 BP, Wageningen Author Oana Baloi ...................................................................... (signature, date) Supervisor and examiner Dr. Ir. Ingrid Duchhart [WUR] ...................................................................... (signature, date) Examiner: Dr. Ir. Adri van den Brink [WUR] ...................................................................... (signature, date) ABSTRACT Wetland protection and creation is a major concern for today`s current development of human settlements. Developing cities are facing challenges when seeking for wealth and safety, in the context of both cli- mate change and thrive for economic independence. The wetlands within Kigali contain precious biodiversity and in same time they provide an important feature to ecosystem services. Having such precious asset, the city can offer an important balance of biodiversity and human activities, if designed and managed properly. Meanwhile, the ecosystems provided by the wetland are as well challenged by settlements expansion and in same time the settlements are threaten by flood and landslide In this thesis, the current city development strategy and current physical structure are investigated with the aim of providing guidelines for including protection and creation of an urban wetland park as an important asset of future developments. The design prospects address the adaptability of spaces, highly important for future development; and landscape services to assure productivity and meaning of the landscape nearby the human settlements. The design regards urban development bonding with wetlands biodiversity, in order to stabilize a certain environmental balance of dwellings, human activities and natural ecosystems. The systematic design focus firstly on risk reduction approaching wetlands as defence system against landslide and minimising the risk of flooding, secondly on the productivity of the landscape services with a clear division between human touch and natural ecosystems, integrated in a green public space in the core of the city. Key words: Kigali, Rwanda - Urban wetlands – Wetland parc design - Landscape services - Biodiversity TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract V. Research Design VII. Research Findings Introducti on V.1. Goals and objecti ves (31) VII.1. Research fi ndings (55) I. Urban wetlands in the core of Africa (2) V.2. Research design (31) VII.2. Findings matrix (57) I.1. Wetlands (2) V.3. Research process (31) VIII. Design Proposal I.2. Urban wetlands (4) VI. Methods VIII.1. Regional design (58) I.3. Urban wetlands and urban VI.1. Landscape Architect`s positi on (32) VIII.2. Urban green network (59) development in Africa (6) VI.2. Methods (32) VIII.3. Design principles (60) II. Kigali, Rwanda (8) VI.3.Site analysis (33) VIII.3.1. Buff er zone (61) II.1. The land of thousand hils (9) VI.3.2. Physical structure and land use (34) VIII.3.2. Border (63) II.2. Rwanda’s history (15) VI.3.3. Green infrastructure (39) VIII.3.3. Retaining water (64) II.3. Current city development (17) VI.3.4. SWOT (41) VIII.3.4. Cruising (promenades) (65) II.4. Kigali in 2030 (20) VI.3.5. Conclusions (42) VIII.3.5. Wetland producti on (66) II.5. Wetland park assignment (21) VI.4. Design Research (43) VIII.3.6. Prospected urban wetland park III. Theoreti cal Framework VI.4.1. Traditi onal use of space (43) IX. Discussion (72) III.1.Theoreti cal Framework (23) VI.4.2. Current use of space (43) X. Conclusions (73) IV.2.Wetland design principles (24) VI.4.3. Prospected use of space (44) References IV. Problem Defi niti on VI.4.4. Laws and policies (45) Appendix III.1. Problem Defi niti on (26) VI.5. The voice of Kigali (45) III.2. Knowledge gap (28) VI.5.1. Research by performance (46) III.3. Hypothesis (29) VI.5.2. One to one interviews (49) III.4. Research Questi ons (29) VI.6. The color of Kigali (52) VI.7. Observati ons from the fi eld (53) INTRODUCTION 2014 is a ti me like never seen or never felt. 2014 counted years of evoluti on of all surfaces on this planet. We advance in technology, we advance in knowledge and understanding of matt er, we advance in interpersonal relati onships becoming, or aiming to become, more civilized. A 2014 in which we pretend to be smarter, more and more all-knowing, aiming to give explanati ons, to provide theories of all we aim to label as science. And yet, there are phenomena that regard solely ourselves, as human kind in its self-evoluti on, that neither teach us from the past nor show us the guide for leading our futures. We sett le, we build and expand, we increase numbers of heads and money, we want more: to owe more, to live more. This in a world in conti nuous movement, from rural to urban, from developing to developed, from year to year . We live a paradigm of fast growing populati on, fast growing citi es and fast degradati on of natural assets. With the current thesis I aim to acknowledge the risks we put ourselves in and how to protect and enhance the small pieces of nature that kept their place in the core of the coty. In this thesis I aim to create a tool for mainstreaming the urban green, neither for myself, nor for the tax payers, but for the legacy of the current urban landscape as a sight to be the view, as air to be the breath, as memory to be kept. This project is about a world that wants to be what we all call “civilized”, where the word civilized is layered horizontally in infrastructures, verti cally in heights and culturally in meanings. Yet, is looking up a more reasonable way of growing when all the beauty is on the ground? The biodiversity and the diversity of cultures are more important assets rather than the elevati on of concrete. Image above: sculpture by Maya Linn, Here and There 2013 1 I. Urban Wetlands in the core of Africa I.1. Wetlands Due to human activity, the worldwide network of wetland is half sized only since 1900 [Global Biodiversity Outlook 3]. Although many parties have been launched in order to prevent biodiversity loss, with all the available evidence the rate of biodiversity loss has not been reduced. Moreover, the threats of biodiversity are intensifying. With the fast urbanization, increas- ing temperature and sea levels, in addition to unexpected weather effects. We need to protect the existing wetlands and to contribute to creation of many others not only for the landscape provided throughout touristic reasoning but for their main importance as water treatment, flood Source: e wetlands Handbook prevention nearby formal or informal settlements, displacement or disparities of animals, disrupted livelihoods. The whole planet is made up of an ecology based The focus of the current research is wetlands issue by its continuous series of connections, visible or not, that relay on the biodiversity for survival, state of degradation in worldwide sites. However, in advance we must give a clear weather we refer to the water drank by the whole population or the rice locally contour of the wetland as functional concept. The wetland is the name of that consumed. specific area whereby the ecosystems rely mainly on the resources and benefits Cities depend on wider ecosystem for their energy production, organic that water provides (Denny, 1985). Strongly related to the quality of life, human, materials and water provision. The traditional nature conservancy has failed flora and fauna, wetlands are divided into several categories as exemplified to protect the benefits of urban ecosystems, in particular where those were in the image above. Wetlands are important ecosystems being most rich and supporting the urban poor (UN-Habitat, 2013). A good understanding of the productive habitats on earth. They are live nurseries for large animal habitats, connectivity between ecosystems and human welfare can easily predict such as fish, birds and mammals but are also an important support in human the fatalities that wetland loss lead to. Despite the high importance of welfare through the services they provide, such as water storage, natural wetlands, most of the threats come from human activities. The protection cleaning water system, and agriculture ground and carbon storage system. and creation of the wetlands and their benefits is highlighted by the United Wetlands can be divided in many ways. By their formation wetlands Nations’ Millennium Development Goals, targeting the achievement constitute different types of landscapes, functions and services. Different of improved sanitation of slum dwellers, and by 2015 to reduce to half countries and societies aim an evolution that sometimes forgets to be the amount of people suffering from hunger.