41 / 110
41
Gishwati Forest
Once an intact forest extending for 70,000 ha in the 1930s,
the Gishwati Forest in Rwanda was reduced to 28,000 ha
during the 1970s due to clearance of the forest for large-
scale cattle ranching, crop cultivation and settlement
(Gatera 2001; Plumptre et al. 2001). Amajor pine plantation
was created in the forest in 1986 and a further 3,000 ha
converted into amilitary zone. By 1995, more natural forest
had been converted for agriculture following the demand
for land for returning refugees and internally displaced
persons at the end of the war (Kanyamibwa 1998). By
the 1990s, only 8,800 ha of forest remained; this further
declined to 600 ha in 2005. Since 2005, forest restoration
work has been ongoing (Nyandwi and Mukashema 2011).
19 July 1986
06 February 1978
20 August 2015
21 February 2005