The Gishwati Forest Reserve, Three Years Interim
Management Plan has been developed by Forest of Hope
Association (FHA) in collaboration with Rwanda
development Board (RDB)/ Tourism & Conservation
Department and Rwanda Natural Resources Authority
(RNRA)/ Forestry and Nature Conservation Department
through a participatory planning process involving all
Gishwati Forest Reserve stakeholders.
Funding for this management plan development have
been provided by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership
Fund (CEPF) in the project of Strengthening the
Conservation of the Gishwati Forest Reserve, Rwanda
The Gishwati Forest Reserve is located in one of the most densely populated areas of Rwanda, where
unsustainable agricultural practices have led to reduced crop yields, and forest-adjacent communities
have been driven to seek out alternative livelihoods. This has lead to increasing pressure on the natural
forests in the form of growing encroachment, poaching and other types of illegal resource extraction.