Rwanda, Burundi to ProtectLargest Mountain Forest in East Africa

The two countries have agreed to jointly safeguard more than 500-square-miles of forest that is home to numerous endangered primates, including owl-faced monkeys and chimpanzees. The tract consists of Rwanda’s Nyungwe National Park and Burundi’s neighboring Kibira National Park, and under the agreement, park managers will collaborate to defend the reserves from growing threats, including illegal logging and mining. Brokered by the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society, the agreement is designed to provide better management and protection of the Nyungwe-Kibira Landscape, most of which lies at an elevation of 5,200 to 9,700 feet. The area contains more wildlife than any other ecosystem in the Albertine Rift, a network of valleys in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo that transects some of Africa’s largest mountain ranges.