Current vulnerability in the Virunga landscape, Rwanda

The assessment identifies that vulnerability in the Virunga landscape is driven by high population density, land mismanagement, and social marginalisation. While gorilla-based tourism has boosted regional economic development, benefits are unevenly distributed, and the Batwa community remains particularly vulnerable due to extreme poverty and restricted land access. Soil erosion is attributed more to poor agricultural practices on steep slopes than to rainfall alone. The document suggests that improving adaptive capacity requires agroforestry, restoration of marginal lands, and sustainable fuelwood management.

• Soil erosion on steep slopes is primarily caused by the failure to use soil conservation and water management techniques, rather than by heavy rains, which are considered an indirect cause.
• The Batwa community experiences higher vulnerability than non-Batwa groups due to extreme poverty, dependency on the park, and poor access to quality land, leaving them more exposed to floods and wind damage.
• While gorilla-based tourism has fostered economic development and funded some adaptive infrastructure like water tanks, the benefits have primarily accrued to tourism investors and well-connected cooperatives rather than the general population.
• Natural resource management is overly centralised and relies on restrictions that have failed to prevent illegal exploitation of park resources, such as fuelwood and medicinal plants, by poorer households.
• To enhance adaptive capacity, the document recommends promoting agroforestry, restoring abandoned lands, and implementing sustainable harvesting plans for fuelwood.

APA

Pavageau, C., Butterfield, R., & Tiani, A. M. (2013). Current vulnerability in the Virunga landscape, Rwanda. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/sei-cobam-virunga-briefing-note.pdf

Chicago

Pavageau, Charlotte, Ruth Butterfield, and Anne Marie Tiani. Current vulnerability in the Virunga landscape, Rwanda. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2013. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/sei-cobam-virunga-briefing-note.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Pavageau |first1=Charlotte |last2=Butterfield |first2=Ruth |last3=Tiani |first3=Anne Marie |title=Current vulnerability in the Virunga landscape, Rwanda |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=April 2013 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/sei-cobam-virunga-briefing-note.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{pavageau2013current, author = {Pavageau, Charlotte and Butterfield, Ruth and Tiani, Anne Marie}, title = {{Current vulnerability in the Virunga landscape, Rwanda}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2013}, month = apr, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/sei-cobam-virunga-briefing-note.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }