Rwanda is famously known for gorilla trekking, chimpanzee tracking, wildlife viewing among others. Like Uganda, Rwanda is a landlocked East African country whose green, mountainous landscape has earned it the nickname “Land of a Thousand Hills.”
Tourism is among the major economic activity in Rwanda with gorillas as the most selling, followed by chimpanzees and so on. Rwanda has only three National Parks which are widely known as world heritage sites, they include Volcanoes National Park- the most popular park gorilla trekking safaris and golden monkey trekking, birds among others.
Nyungwe Forest National Park – home for Chimpanzees, colobus monkeys and other 11 primate species, birds and so on. Akagera National Park is known for hosting a variety of wild animals and birds. Boat cruise on Lake Ihema is very adventurous.
Other tourist potentials in Rwanda include Genocide memorial museum, Lake Kivu, the twin Lakes: Burera & Buhondo, the mighty Virunga ranges: Sabyinyo Volcano, Mountain Mgahinga, Karisimbi Volcano, Visoke/ Karisoke among others.
Based on the above, Rwanda wild animals and birds are exposed to poaching from local people for meat, skins, horns among other reasons. During the 1994 civil war, many Rwanda primates and other wild animals were maliciously killed – great thanks to late Dian Fossey a zoologist best known for researching the endangered gorillas of the Rwandan mountain forest from the 1960s to the ’80s, and for her mysterious murder – Dian Fossey was killed for her effort of defending Mountain Gorilla from poachers who were killing them. In addition to Dian Fossey’s effort, the Rwanda Government in conjunction with other organization have revised ways of curbing poaching in Rwanda.
The Government had employed more security guards to provide security in the parks and game reserves. The armed persons keep on patrolling the parks day and night to ensure that all visitors and animals are safe.
Part of the profits from Rwanda tourism is offered to develop the surrounding communities in terms of constructing road, health centres, clean water sources, among others. The aim is to prevent people from Killing animals after realizing their benefits.
The Government has set up education centres where people are taught about the benefits of tourism and ways of preserving wildlife.
Strict laws and tough punishments to whoever caught killing animals and birds – this serves as an example to threaten others from poaching. Many poachers have been jailed for the act and they have served as an example.
The government has applied spy net to report any cases of poaching.
The Government offers financial support to the local people to set up income generating projects like Art and craft shops. The people sell products to the tourists hence earning a living.
Music, dance and drama groups have been started to entertain visitors hence a source of income – the projects are set purposely to controlling poaching since people are having sources of income.
The Rwanda Development Board has employed many people in the tourism sector to serve as rangers, Hotel managers, drivers and so on. Currently, the cases of poaching in Rwanda are minimal due to government effort to control the habit.