Gishwati Area Conservation Program
One hundred years ago, Gishwati was
Rwanda’s
second largest indigenous forest. It extended 1,000 square kilometers
or approximately a quarter million acres (100,000 hectares). The Gishwati
Forest was reduced to about one fourth that size by the late 1980s due
to human encroachment, deforestation and small-scale farming. The aftermath
of the civil war and genocide in the mid-90s resulted in the resettlement
of refugees to the area and further encroachment. Today, Gishwati has
about 2,500 acres of forest and a small population of 14 chimpanzees.
But for Gishwati…like the people of Rwanda, there is a bright future. In the fall of 2007, Rwanda President Paul Kagame and Ted Townsend, founder of Great Ape Trust of Iowa and Earthpark, unveiled at the Clinton Global Initiative, Rwanda’s first national conservation park. In December, Gishwati was selected as the site for the project – setting into motion one of Africa’s most ambitious forest restoration and ecological research efforts.
Developing a chimpanzee field study site at Gishwati and restoring the forest
are two significant goals of the Gishwati Area Conservation Program. But
the effort goes well beyond great apes and reforestation. It is about the
people of Rwanda and improving their lives and livelihoods. This collaborative
effort will reduce poverty’s threat to conservation by improving water
quality, controlling floods, promoting ecotourism and enhancing local employment.
Project Press Releases
Project Information
Project Slideshow
Project Video Presentation
Journals & Blogs
In a 10-part journal, Dr. Ben Beck offers a personal account of experiences in Rwanda that will lead to the establishment of the Gishwati Area Conservation Program in the Gishwati Forest Reserve.
 Blog
entries from Al Setka, Great Ape Trust Communications Director:
Blog entries from Perry Beeman, Des Moines Register Reporter:
- Enviroscribe in DC, headed to Rwanda – 8/31/2009
- Rwanda Countdown – 9/8/2009
- Enviroscribe in Rwanda – 9/13/2009
- Fiery volcano, busy Rwandans, chimps in the mist – 09/14/2009
- Women at work in Rwanda – 9/18/2009
- Muzungu madness – 09/18/2009
- Talk about home field advantage – 09/19/2009
- The Rwandan countryside – 09/19/2009
- “Don’t poop in forest” – 09/19/2009
- Rwandan alarm clock – 09/19/2009
- Sorting chimp poop – 09/20/2009
- How the Gorilla King died – 09/24/2009
- Rwanda image – 09/24/2009
- Rwandan footwear, clothing notes – 09/25/2009
- Mountain gorillas – 09/25/2009
- Joy in Rwanda, Part I – 09/25/2009
- One word in Rwanda: plastics – 09/26/2009
- A visit to genocide memorials – 09/29/2009
- Wildlife sightings in Rwanda – 09/30/2009
- Rwanda: So clean you could eat off the streets – 10/1/2009
- Beer as a measure of water quality – 10/1/2009
- Modem jackpot – 10/2/2009
- Rwanda tea reigns, makes good cattle fence – 10/2/2009
- Mountain gorilla video – 10/2/2009
- Rwanda radar detectors – 10/7/2009
- French influences in Rwanda – 10/7/2009
- Active volcano – 10/7/2009
- Joy in Rwanda, Part 2 – 10/7/2009
- “Clean” Rwanda, Part 2 – 10/9/2009
- Coke is it, in French and Arabic – 10/9/2009
- State of Rwanda’s environment – 10/12/2009
- “Clean” Rwanda, Part 3 – 10/14/2009
- Turn on Rwanda – 10/14/2009
- Rwanda update – 10/21/2009
- Power up, Rwanda, Part 2 – 10/21/2009
- Rwanda radio chat – 11/3/2009
- ‘Hotel Rwanda’ manager in Iowa today – 11/3/2009
- Deep thoughts in D.C. – 11/12/2009
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Ted Townsend, founder and president of Townsend
Vision, has created three complementary educational and social programs
designed to meet the many challenges facing the 21st century. Great
Ape Trust of Iowa, Earthpark and the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy
resulted from his lifelong interest in conservation, sustainability
and restoration. Each program is grounded in science and infuses
Townsend’s passion to facilitate respectful collaborations
with other cultures.
 
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