Linking great ape conservation and poverty alleviation in Rwanda Kigali, Rwanda, November 2015 PCLG EVENT REPORT LINKING GREAT APE CONSERVATION AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION IN RWANDA – NOVEMBER 2015 Acknowledgements The meeting ‘Linking great ape conservation and poverty alleviation in Rwanda’ was organised by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and the Gorilla Organization with funding from the Arcus Foundation. The workshop was facilitated by Samson Werikhe of the Gorilla Organization, with support from Jillian Miller (The Gorilla Organization) and Alessandra Giuliani (IIED). The meeting organisers would like to thank Greg Bakunzi (Amohoro Tours) and Jean Damuru (PAMOJA Action Rwanda), who helped organise the field trip on the third day of the workshop and welcomed participants at their Green Gardening Demonstration Plots in Musanze. Thanks are also due to Justin Rurangirwa (Future 4 Kids) who guided participants to Kabagorozi Village, to a project that has helped resettle historically marginalised people. Finally, we thank all the participants for taking the time to attend this workshop, and for their valuable contributions to the discussions. About the authors This report was compiled by: Samson Werikhe, The Gorilla Organization, [email protected] Alessandra Giuliani, IIED, [email protected] About the project partner The Gorilla Organization works internationally to save the world's last remaining gorillas in the wild, by funding small grass-roots projects, run by local African partners that tackle the real threats to the gorillas' long term survival. The Gorilla Organization understands that if gorillas are to have a realistic chance of survival in the context of Africa's significant challenges, conservation and poverty alleviation need to happen side-by-side. And so the Gorilla Organization works with local communities to find alternative resources to those found in the forest, lessening encroachment into the gorilla habitat and lifting local people out of poverty. For more information visit the Gorilla Organization’s website (http://www.gorillas.org) or contact Jillian Miller at [email protected]. About the event For more information about this event and to view all the presentations visit http://povertyandconservation.info/en/pages/linking-conservation-and-poverty-alleviation-rwanda, or contact Alessandra Giuliani at [email protected] Photo credits All photos in this report were taken by Alessandra Giuliani, 2015. Published March 2016. povertyandconservation.info 1 LINKING GREAT APE CONSERVATION AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION IN RWANDA – NOVEMBER 2015 CONTENTS ACRONYMS ................................................................................................................ 3 BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................... 4 Objectives and anticipated outcomes ........................................................................... 4 DAY ONE ..................................................................................................................... 5 Session 1 – The policy and institutional framework for linking poverty and conservation in Rwanda ............................................................................................... 7 Discussion – What are the key conservation and development priorities (and challenges) in Rwanda? ............................................................................................... 8 Session 2 – Linking conservation and poverty alleviation: experiences from the international NGOs working in Rwanda ...................................................................... 10 Session 3 – Linking conservation and poverty alleviation: experiences from the national organisations working in Rwanda ................................................................. 13 Group activity 1 – What works, what doesn’t and why in linking poverty and conservation objectives in Rwanda ............................................................................ 16 DAY TWO .................................................................................................................. 18 Session 4 .................................................................................................................... 18 Session 5 – The Poverty and Conservation Learning Group (PCLG): the international network and the national chapters .............................................................................. 19 Group activity 2 – Cooperation and information sharing practices in Rwanda: successes, challenges and lessons learnt .................................................................. 23 Group activity 3 – What role could a new conservation and development group play in Rwanda? .................................................................................................................... 25 Discussion in plenary – Which activities could a conservation and development group undertake in Rwanda?................................................................................................ 25 Bringing it all together and agreeing a proposed way forward .................................... 26 Meeting evaluation ..................................................................................................... 26 FIELD TRIP TO MUSANZE ....................................................................................... 28 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................ 30 Appendix 1 – Meeting agenda .................................................................................... 30 Appendix 2 – Participants list ..................................................................................... 33 povertyandconservation.info 2 LINKING GREAT APE CONSERVATION AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION IN RWANDA – NOVEMBER 2015 ACRONYMS ACNR Association pour la Conservation de la Nature au Rwanda ARCOS Albertine Rift Conservation Society ARECO Association Rwandaise des Ecologistes BINP Bwindi Impenetrable National Park CSO Civil Society Organisation DRC Democratic Republic of the Congo EDPRS Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy FHA Forest of Hope Association HMP Historically Marginalised People IBA Important Bird Area IGCP International Gorilla Conservation Programme IIED International Institute for Environment and Development JADF Joint Action Development Forum LCG Local Conservation Group MGVP Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project MINIRENA Ministry of Natural Resources NESDA Network for Environment and Sustainable Development NGO Non-governmental organisation NNP Nyungwe National Park PCLG Poverty and Conservation Learning Group RDB Rwanda Development Board REDO Rural Environment and Development Organisation RNRA Rwanda Natural Resources Authority SACOLA Sabyinyo Community Livelihoods Association UWA Uganda Wildlife Authority VNP Volcanoes National Park povertyandconservation.info 3 LINKING GREAT APE CONSERVATION AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION IN RWANDA – NOVEMBER 2015 BACKGROUND Great apes, and particularly mountain gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei), are highly endangered and could disappear very soon from the wild without concerted interventions for their protection. Great apes often occur in areas of the world characterised by a high density of poor people. As a result, humans end up competing with great apes for the limited resources available in their environment, often endangering the survival of great apes. At the same time, great apes are of huge interest to conservationists and anthropologists for their close relationship with humans and for the ecological role they play. They also have high commercial value, considering that tourists are willing to pay substantial fees to see them. In the recent past, many initiatives have been trialled to minimise or eliminate the conflicts between local people and great apes. However, those initiatives have often been limited in their success, and, as we write, many communities living near great ape conservation sites remain poor and continue to put pressure on protected areas and the species living within them. Objectives and anticipated outcomes Bearing this context in mind, this workshop was organised with the goal of bringing together field practitioners working on great apes conservation and poverty alleviation issues in Rwanda to: Provide a space for Rwanda based conservation and development organisations to share their experiences in linking conservation (and particularly great ape conservation) and poverty alleviation, reflecting on what has worked, what hasn’t and why Understand the framework for conservation and development policies in Rwanda Identify what changes are needed (from specific practices to national policies) in order to maximise conservation-poverty linkages Develop practical proposals for how these changes might be brought about, and what role a group of conservation and development organisations in Rwanda could play (for example through information exchange, learning and joint action). Anticipated outputs and outcomes of the workshop were: An improved understanding, among organisations working in Rwanda, as to the activities being undertaken by their peers, and the lessons learned in trying to link conservation with poverty alleviation Agreement on the need (or not) of some kind of forum to continue the dialogue and lesson-learning started at this event among Rwanda conservation and development organisations