Twenty years ago, Rwanda was about to lose one of its major parks, Akagera National Park, because of the effects of the 1994 civil war. The aftermath of this civil war had a negative impact on the environment, making the revival of Akagera National Park a miracle.
Located in the northeast of Rwanda, along the border with Tanzania, about a three-hour drive from the capital Kigali, Akagera National Park is the only savannah national park in Rwanda. It was gazetted in 1934 and covers about 1,120 square kilometers.
Akagera National Park is named after the Akagera River, which flows along its eastern boundary and feeds into Lake Ihema.
The land on which Akagera National Park sits had been encroached on by humans, who mainly used it for cattle rearing. It was later gazetted for wildlife conservation through strong law enforcement and community engagement, which helped to reclaim the land.
In partnership with the Rwanda Development Board, African Parks took over the management of the park in 2010, helping to restore the park’s glory. Slowly, wildlife animals like lions and black rhinos were reintroduced, and their numbers grew.
Being a savannah national park, Akagera National Park is a habitat for many mammal species like lions, elephants, giraffes, hippos, kobs, zebras, bushbucks, waterbucks, and black rhinos.
Lions were reintroduced in 2015, and two new male lions were added in 2017 to increase their genetic variety. Eighteen black rhinos were introduced in 2017 and again in 2019 after a ten-year absence.
The park is also home to many bird species that live in different habitats like woodlands, swamps, lakes, and savannah grasslands.
The forest cover, open savannah grasslands, acacia woodland, and lakes make the park one of the most scenic parks worth visiting for sightseeing and a good experience.
Akagera National Park has low-lying grasslands and savannah plains in the north, hills and valleys in the west, and the Akagera River in the east, which feeds into a series of lakes, marshes, and papyrus swamps. These swamps form the largest protected wetlands in East and Central Africa, making the park a very good habitat for wildlife.
Akagera National Park is visited by both local and foreign tourists. The number of visitors has greatly improved compared to before, which has increased the revenue collected from park fees.
The park is also visited by school children, teachers, and local leaders under the environmental education program. This helps teach the future generation why it is important to conserve and protect the environment.
Because of the increase in the number of tourists, reaching up to 50,000 tourists a year by 2019, Akagera National Park has been able to finance its activities. The only recent drop in visitors happened during the COVID-19 pandemic, but authorities believe that tourism will return to normal now that the pandemic is no longer a big threat.
