Soil erosion to be curbed in order to protect Lake Karago

Water resources management is a crucial issue in Rwanda because it has been carried in isolation with other resources of which uses equally impact on the availability of water. Although the country is endowed with abundant surface and groundwater resources, the effective and management of this resource has remained critical. One of the main challenges in managing the Rwanda water resources is related to land and ecosystem degradation, forests, wetlands, savannah, etc.
The above mentioned factors are aggravated by demographic pressures that implies the constant land development, and new land reclamation in order to warrant the food security.
Over the last few years, the water level of several rivers and lakes in the country has decreased significantly, often due to human activities.
For instance, Karago Lake in Nyabihu district of Western Province was recently reported to have been seriously affected by human activities around its shores.
At the same time, floods occur regularly due to lack of good water containment techniques, yet shortage of water has become great issue due to many factors including climate change.
All of this has prompted the government to devise a regulatory mechanism to improve water management and minimize the consequences of calamities.

In this regard, on Friday March 30, 2012 in a community work commonly known as "UMUGANDA" in KARAGO Sector, Cyamabuye Cell, Hon. Minister for Natural Resources, Stanislas Kamanzi launched activities aiming to rehabilitate Karago Lake by planting trees on hillsides near the Nyamukongoro River in order to fight against erosion which leads to the destruction of Karago Lake
Hon. Minister Stanislas Kamanzi told Nyabihu residents that with the passing years, the lake was degraded by diverse human activities including bad practice of agriculture, deforestation and plants species overexploitation.
He urged Nyabihu residents to plant more trees on the hills surrounding Karago Lake in order to fight against soil erosion which lead to water level fall.
Stanislas Kamanzi pointed out that agro forestry species must be significantly increased not only for environmental conservation but also ensuring food security in their respective homes.

During the welcome remarks, Celestin Kabahizi, the Governor of Western Province appreciated residents for active participation in environmental conservation, adding that a continuous participation is needed to ensure that Natural resources are protected not only for current generation but also for future generations
Apart from trees planted on Nyamukongoro hill, currently other reforestation programs are taking place at Kiraro site, Kazuba and at the shores of Lake Karago.