The socio-economic situation of the Batwa today as described in this paper is based on recent research findings on the relationship between the Volcanoes National Park and former forest-dwelling Batwa communities. [1] In order to highlight the current living situation, extracts from focus group discussions, as well as personal interviews conducted in the context of this study with members of the affected Batwa communities, are presented in this paper. Since the notion of national parks started in the nineteenth century, the dominant model of conservation has been one that has resulted in “an approach that seeks to preserve wildlife and their habitat through the forceful exclusion of local people who have traditionally relied on the environment in question for their livelihoods”. [2] In East Africa, historically, the Batwa were forest-dwelling hunter-gatherers, living and practising their cultural and economic way of life in the high mountainous forest areas around Lake Kivu in Rwanda and Lake Edward in the Great Lakes region of Central Africa; today, the Batwa are found living in Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo with an estimated total population of 86,000 to 112,000. [3] In order to combat climate change, and forest and biodiversity loss, conservation policies have been adopted across the continent— although in reality, between the years 2000 and 2010, the African continent saw a net annual forest loss of 3.4 million hectares [4]— and such policies have come at a human cost, including, but not limited to, forced land evictions, failed compensation schemes, and the loss of cultural sites and socio-economic opportunities.

“Fortress conservation” or “the fines and fences” methods to conservation have created tensions and accusations of the local communities destroying ecosystems. [5] In contrast, local communities portray their lifestyle as protective of the environment, rather than exploitative. [6] Furthermore, local residents have been excluded from conservation activities or, when they have been included, have found that they have been given ‘privileges’ rather than rights, and more responsibilities than benefits. [7]

Similarly, Rwanda has upheld this conservation approach since its introduction. [8] The Volcanoes National Park, created in 1924, is embedded in narratives of displacement resulting in ever-increasing marginalization. One report from the International Labour Organization noted that, as a result of a loss of habitat, communities like the Twa in Rwanda increasingly have had to offer their labour for extremely low wages, further exacerbating their tenuous economic situation. [9]

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Richard Ntakirutimana

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