The Murehe Forest (; ) is an area of forest in the north of the
Kirundo Province
Kirundo Province is one of the eighteen provinces of Burundi, in north of the country bordering Rwanda.
The economy is mostly based on agriculture, with a dispersed population and few sizable communities.
Before 1970 large parts of the province we ...
of
Burundi
Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...
.
It is protected by the Murehe Reserve (), part of the
Lacs du Nord Aquatic Landscape.
Location
The
Victoria Basin forest–savanna mosaic
The Victoria Basin forest–grassland mosaic is an ecoregion that lies mostly in Uganda and extends into neighboring countries. The ecoregion is centered north and west of Lake Victoria, with an outlier on the border of Ethiopia and South Sudan.B ...
centers around
Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropics, tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface are ...
and extends through parts of Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi.
The portion of this ecosystem in Burundi in limited to the northeast, and includes the
Ruvubu National Park and the Murehe Forest Reserve.
The Muhere Forest is in the north of Kirundo Province, to the west of
Lake Rweru
Lake Rweru is a lake close to the northernmost point of Burundi in central Africa. The northern shore of the lake forms part of Burundi's border with Rwanda. It is the most distant origin point of the Nile River. The Kagera River, considered by ma ...
and east of the RN 14 highway, which crosses into Rwanda to the north of
Gasenyi.
It is in the
Commune of Busoni in the ''collines'' of Munazi, Kivo, Yanza, Gatete and Vyanzo.
The collines of Muhere have the form of domes separated by small valleys.
The highest points are above sea level, and the lowlands are above sea level.
Protection
The Managed Reserve of
Lake Rwihinda, covering , was created by a decree of 1980, protecting the birds on this lake. In 1993 it was suggested that protection should be extended to the Muhere Forest.
However, only one guard was assigned to monitor what he called the Murehe Reserve, at that time thought to cover over .
A plan for a Northern Aquatic Landscape (''Paysage Aquatique du Nord'') was issued in 2005, proposing to create a Protected Aquatic Landscape and a Strict Nature Reserve from Murehe to Bugesera.
The
Lacs du Nord Aquatic Landscape Protected Area was created in 2006, expanding on the Lake Rwihinda protected area.
In theory this conserves over of aquatic environment with integrated community management, agricultural production, and lake conservation.
It includes the integrated Natural Reserve of Murehe; the managed Reserves of
Lake Rwihinda,
Lake Rweru
Lake Rweru is a lake close to the northernmost point of Burundi in central Africa. The northern shore of the lake forms part of Burundi's border with Rwanda. It is the most distant origin point of the Nile River. The Kagera River, considered by ma ...
and
Lake Cohoha
Lake Cyohoha South or Cyohoha Sud as it is known in Rwanda or Lake Cohoha in Burundi is a small lake in East Africa.
It straddles the border between Burundi and Rwanda.
Name
In Rwanda, the lake is known as Cyohoha South to differentiate it fr ...
, and the integrated protected zones of
Lake Gacamirinda,
Lake Mwungere,
Lake Nagitamo, and
Lake Kanzigiri.
However,
coltan
Coltan (short for columbite–tantalites and known industrially as tantalite) is a dull black metallic ore from which the elements niobium and tantalum are extracted. The niobium-dominant mineral in coltan is columbite (after niobium's original A ...
and
cassiterite
Cassiterite is a tin oxide mineral, SnO2. It is generally opaque, but it is translucent in thin crystals. Its luster and multiple crystal faces produce a desirable gem. Cassiterite was the chief tin ore throughout ancient history and remains ...
extraction have been reported in the Murehe Reserve, which degrades fish habitat in the nearby lakes.
The Murehe forest is also threatened by encroachment.
The total area of the
Protected Northern Aquatic Landscape covered by the
Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on We ...
is , including eight lakes and the Murehe Reserve, which now covers just .
The protected landscape was formally created by decree on 12 April 2011.
The Kagera Aquatic Zone's Management Plan issued in 2011 aims to improve management of the lakes and marshlands, and of the vegetation in the Murehe Forest area.
Lake Mwungere is considered an Integral Zone under this plan, which includes lake Gacamirina and Lake Nagitamo, and marshlands in the secondary valleys of the
Akanyaru River
The Akanyaru River is the main tributary of the Nyabarongo River. It rises in the western highlands of Rwanda and Burundi, flows east and then north along the border between those countries before joining the Nyabarongo River. The lower stretches c ...
.
Human influence should be excluded from the zone by a belt to protect the natural species.
References
Sources
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Protected areas of Burundi
Forests of Burundi
Environment of Kirundo Province