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The marshlands are the most physically and chemically
heterogeneous of all aquatic ecosystems in Rwanda.
They are seasonal wetlands. The water table is near or
above the lowest ground surface during the wet season
and the floodplains are generally narrow (less than
200 m wide) or fairly short in length (REMA 2011). The
most recent inventory of wetlands conducted in 2008
by the Rwanda Environment Management Authority,
showed that Rwanda has 860 marshlands covering
an area of 278,536 ha (10.6 per cent of the country’s
surface area) and 101 lakes covering a total of 149,487
ha (REMA 2011). The biggest marshlands are clustered
around the rivers. The Rugezi and Kamiranzovu
wetlands are high altitude wetlands; most of the others
are at low altitude.
Over recent years, enormous pressure has been exerted
on the water and wetland resources of Rwanda through
a variety of emerging and increasing uses driven
by the growing population. Some of these threats
include agricultural intensification, pollution, invasive
species, overuse and an inadequate institutional
framework to manage the wetlands. Some of these
threats have affected both the quantity and quality of
the water supply. Climate change is also contributing
to degradation of swamps. With decreasing amounts
of rainfall, the hydrological regime of wetlands is
increasingly under threat.
Rwanda’s Marshlands
Rwandanmarshlands
Bugesera marshes along the Nyabarongo River