Changes in Gishwati-Mukura Forest and effects on biodiversity, floods, and landslides - recommendations for sustainable forest management

Abstract: Rainforests are of great importance for biodiversity and several ecosystem services. In Rwanda, a considerable decline in rainforest covers have been observed during the last decades. The Gishwati-Mukura Forest is one of the rainforests in Rwanda that has experienced a substantial reduction in forest cover, 99.4 %. The aim of this research has been to investigate what the changes in forest cover of Gishwati-Mukura have been, what impacts they had on local livelihoods, biodiversity and occurrence of floods and landslides, and what the reasons for the deforestation have been. The method used to reach the aim has been a combination between field observations and interviews with local inhabitants in Rwanda, a review of literature, and analysis of changes in forest cover, land use, and hydrological data. The main reasons for the deforestation are found to be an increase of local population, expanded agricultural land use, use of wood as primary source for energy production and mining activities. The deforestation in Gishwati-Mukura has had negative impacts on biodiversity, ecosystem services and resilience of the ecosystems, as the habitats for the species have been fragmented and reduced. A correlation between the decreased forest cover and higher flow rates in Sebeya river has been found, indicating that the loss of forests is a potential cause for more frequent floods and landslides.