Kibira National Park
Encyclopedia
The Kibira National Park is a national park in northwestern Burundi
Burundi
Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...
. Overlapping four provinces and covering 400 km². Kibira National Park lies atop the mountains of the Congo-Nile divide. It extends north from the provincial town of Muramvya
Muramvya
Muramvya is a city located in central Burundi. It is the capital city of Muramvya Province....
to the border of Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
where it is contiguous with the Nyungwe National Park. It is estimated that around 16% of the park consists of primary montane rainforest, and is adjacent to two large tea plantations, one in Teza and the other in Rwegura. Dominant tree species include Symphonia globulifera
Symphonia globulifera
Symphonia globulifera is a timber tree native to Central America, South America and Africa. This plant also used as a medicinal plant and ornamental plant.-Distribution:Native:...
, Newtonia buchananii, Albizia gummifera and Entandrophragma excelsum. The forest contains areas of montane bog and bamboo stands. The Kibira is home to a number of primate species, including chimpanzees and black and white colobus monkeys
Black-and-white colobus
Black-and-white colobuses are Old World monkeys of the genus Colobus, native to Africa. They are closely related to the brown colobus monkeys of genus Piliocolobus. The word "colobus" comes from Greek κολοβός kolobós , and is so named because its thumb is a stump.Colobuses are herbivorous, eating...
, and boasts over 250 species of birds, including the majestic Great Blue Turaco
Great Blue Turaco
The Great Blue Turaco is a turaco, a group of African near-passerines. It is not only the largest turaco but the largest species in the diverse Cuculiformes order . Generally, the Great Blue Turaco is in length with a mass of...
. The park is managed by the Institut National pour l'Environnement et la Conservation de la Nature (INECN).
Until 1933, this forest was a hunting reserve of the Kings of Burundi. The local people respected the forest, investing it with a magical power. Rights of use for livestock grazing and the gathering of forest products were recognized. The sacred character of the forest, even prior to the colonial era, helped to conserve it. Between 1933 and 1980 Kibira was classified as the Congo-Nile Ridge Forest Reserve, first under Belgian rule, then after Burundian Independence in July 1962. Only the extraction of high-value timber was regulated and controlled. Between Independence and 1980, the right to allocate new land for cultivation within the defined boundary was abolished, although grazing rights were retained. Despite its status as a National Park, there is much pressure on parts of the forest as a result of felling of trees and cutting of bamboo, fire and poaching, and encroaching subsistence agriculture.