Akagera National Park

"Akagera" redirects here. For the river, see Kagera River.

Akagera National Park
IUCN Category II (National Park)
Topis above Akagera valley
Satellite photo from July 2004, showing fires (red) set by poachers next to a burnt section (gray) in the northern section of the densely forested (bright green) park (inset).
Location	Rwanda
Coordinates	1°38′S 30°47′E
Area	1,200km²
Established	1934

The Akagera National Park (French: Parc National de l'Akagera) covers 1,200km² in eastern Rwanda, against the Tanzanian border. It was founded in 1934 to protect animals and vegetation in three ecoregions: savannah, mountain and swamp. The park is named for the Kagera River which flows along its eastern boundary feeding into several lakes the largest of which is Lake Ihema. The complex system of lakes and linking papyrus swamps makes up over 1/3 of the park and is the largest protected wetland in central Africa.

Much of the savannah area of the park was settled in the late 1990s by former refugees returning after the end of the Rwandan Civil War. Due to land shortages, in 1997 the western boundary was regazetted and much of the land allocated as farms to returning refugees. The park was reduced in size from over 2,500km² to its current size. Although much of the best savannah grazing land is now outside the park boundaries, what remains of Akagera is some of the most diverse and scenic landscape in Africa.

In 2009 the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and the African Parks Network entered into a 20 year renewable agreement for the joint management of Akagera. The Akagera Management Company was formed in 2010 as the joint management body for Akagera National Park.

Over the next 5 years a US$10 million expenditure is planned for Akagera including the construction of a 120km western boundary fence and the reintroduction of lion and black rhino.

Literature

• Vande weghe, Jean Pierre: Akagera: Land of water, grass and fire / Jean Pierre Vande weghe. With collaboration of Thérèse Abandibakobwa, José Kalpers a.o. Photography by Philippe Dejace. Translated by Alicia L. Spruijt-Ray. - Brussels: World Wildlife Fund for Nature, 1990

External links

• World Conservation Society

• African Parks Network

• October 2004 pictures