BIOCOOR

Biodiversity Conservation Organization (BIOCOOR) has been created mainly by young people dedicated to act and to advocate for biodiversity conservation, ecotourism promotion, community health, environmental management, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The BIOCOOR headquarters is in Nyamagabe district of the Southern Province of Rwanda. The organization’s geographical focus is five districts near the Nyungwe National Park. It integrates conservation projects and sustainable economic development for the communities surrounding Nyungwe National Park.

The organization was started in 2012 as a social enterprise called BIOCOOP and recently in June 2020 has shifted to a local NGO current BIOCOOR but keeping the same focus. Its mission is to build a nation that is environmentally and socio-economically stable through its resources and skills.

Wetlands

The wetlands within the Nyungwe National Park Buffer Zone provide vital ecosystem services. Such as, water supply and folder (grass) for domestic animals, erosion control, and nutrients for the soil. Despite local communities heavily relying on the wetlands for survival, little is known about how to asses and monitor the wetlands in the buffer zone.

The Buffer Zone

The buffer zone consists of exotic tree species and wetlands. In 2011, the government of Rwanda signed a 49-year logging agreement with the New Forests Company (NFC) for tree plantation management of the Buffer Zone. There has yet to be a good structure to manage the wetlands. However, BIOCOOR and NFC have begun using the Pressure-State-Response- Framework method to assess and monitor the wetlands within the Buffer Zone.

Community Outreach Programs

BIOCOOR aims to link biodiversity conservation with community action and human welfare. The cooperative has taken into consideration such issues and created community outreach programs in primary (middle school) and secondary (high school) schools. It has also initiated environmental clubs in secondary schools that will assist and support students in training and finance.

Youth in Biodiversity Conservation

BIOCOOR offers student-internships in Ecotourism, biodiversity conservation, and environmental management at the Kitabi Eco-Center. Research Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Eric Ndagijimana, trains students to identify different biodiversity existing in and around Nyungwe National Park. Eric is graduate of Wildlife and Aquatic Systems Management at the University of Rwanda.

Tourism Activies in Biocoop