Page 5 - Belgian Development Cooperation Newsletter_draft

In 2015 the Rwanda Natural Resource Authorities ,with the support of the BTC Study Fund, conducted a National
Forest Inventory (NFI), based on a large random sampling - 2678 Sample Units - covering all non-protected forests,
shrub-lands and tree resources in agroforestry area of the country.

Finding shows that more than 10 % of Sample Units are not forests anymore in 2015. They have shifted to other
land uses. For shrub-lands and savanna, more than 25% have been converted to other land uses. This shifting led
to a decrease of 11,4% of total forest cover since 2009.

The figure demonstrate the poor
situation of both public and private
production forests in Rwanda, with an
average stock of only 50 m3/ha, while it
should be largely superior to 100.

The situation of the woody stock is
particularly dramatic in small individual
private forests - 68% of the non-
protected forests - where the average
volume reach only 17 m3/ha.

More than 50% has been cut in the Tree resources in agroforestry area
last 2 years and they are very old Shrub-lands and savanna areas count for 39% of current national
which make them unproductive. represent 35% of the total production woody stock, and for 27% of the
Small private forests should be the area, but count only for 6% of the annual sustainable supply of woody
remaining wood stock and 3 % of the
focus of the government efforts in annual sustainable supply of wood. biomass. By supporting dissemination
order to reverse forest degradation. of agroforestry technics in
collaboration with the
Rwanda Agriculture Board,
tree resources could be
double in crop areas. It
State forests representing 28% of could contribute for more
non-protected forests are better than 40% of the yearly
of
supply
sustainable
maintained with an average volume woody biomass.
of around 127 m3/ha. They are
essentially distributed in Southern
and Western Provinces, and
constitute the last wood stocks able
to sustain the development of the In total, the current forest
wood industry. But they are becoming resources are producing
old, less productive and encroached around 2.3 Million oven dry
by high pressure on forest resources. Measurement exercice © NFI 2015 tons per year. But the
woody biomass demand is so high -
Priority focus should be to ensure 5.9 M. in 2015 - that it leads too over-
their long term concession to private They are already too degraded and exploitation and forest degradation.
are
by
threatened
most
the
operators based on well-established conversion into other land use such Moreover, It constantly reduce the
supply capacity for the coming years.
management plans. The concession as crops and village settlement. With the population growth, demand
approach could be the foundation of Urgent measures in term of protection will increase to 6.8 M. by 2020.
building a professional forest industry and conversion into well managed Drastic measures must be taken to
sector in Rwanda, where the production forests should be taken, reduce the demand to a sustainable
starting with updating the map of
production mix of high value timber cadaster and ownership. level.
wood and wood for efficient energy
product could occur.