January 17th, 2008
Published by Ben Beck

The faces of Rwanda’s future.

Editor’s note: Today, Great Ape Trust of Iowa Director of Conservation Dr. Benjamin Beck continues his 10-part blog on his recent trip to Rwanda. Beck, along with Great Ape Trust Founder and Chairman Ted Townsend, Communications Director Al Setka and Peter Clay, a senior orangutan caretaker, were in Rwanda from Nov. 28-Dec. 6 to begin the process to establish the Rwanda National Conservation Project with Earthpark and the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy, two other Iowa-based projects supported by Townsend.

On Wednesday, Dec. 5, we caught up on e-mail, and prepared for some afternoon meetings. The first was with Therese Musabe, a lecturer in biology at the National University of Rwanda (NUR). Therese is helping to establish a conservation biology program at NUR, with advice being provided by Beth Kaplin of Antioch University of New England who is receiving MacArthur Foundation funding to help rebuild NUR’s academic programs. NUR needs more faculty, as well as financial support for graduate students. The university even changed its term to January through October to be able to host visiting lecturers on summer breaks from North American and European universities. I offered to present guest lectures when I return to Rwanda.

Therese told us of many master’s students already working in Rwandan national parks on conservation-useful biology research projects, including a study of nest building by Gishwati chimpanzees. Some of these student projects are funded by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. We left the meeting committed to collaborating with Therese and her colleagues at NUR, and to helping rebuild Rwanda’s scholarly infrastructure.

We then met with Rose Mukanomeje and Frank Rutabingwa to summarize our experiences and thoughts of the past week, and to finalize a presentation for Patricia Hajabakiga, the cabinet minister of lands and environment, on the following morning. We reached consensus on the content and structure of the presentation, but we needed to be able to present a final concept document to her. Al, Peter and I returned to our hotel, and by 9 p.m., we had put the final touches on the third draft of the presentation. Frank met us at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday morning to review the presentation, and we took off for the meeting in Patricia’s office at 8:30 a.m.

Despite her own hectic schedule, Patricia listened carefully and unhurriedly to our presentation, and made some very cogent suggestions. I offered to revise the concept document accordingly, and we agreed to finalize it by e-mail by the end of December. Al interviewed Patricia on video, and we exchanged warm goodbyes and thanks. I gave Patricia and Rose golden lion tamarin pins, which were especially appropriate since our work in Brazil had so heavily influenced our plans. I was gratified by the thought of Patricia wearing a tamarin pin at the upcoming Bali Climate Change Conference.

We returned to the hotel to pack our bags and have lunch with Frank and Nsengi prior to a mid-afternoon departure for the airport and the long return trip to the United States.

I have told my Brazilian colleagues that I am contemplating a divorce from Brazil after 25 years, to take up with a vibrant and exciting new love, Rwanda.