Rwanda's Congo-Nile Divide (CND) is a 4,446 km² high-elevation, steep-slope landscape of natural forest reserves positioned within a mosaic of intensive smallholder farms and commercial plantations. Due to the rugged terrain and the high-population density, farmers have access to mostly steep-slope terrain which, due to recent increases in rainfall, is increasingly vulnerable to landslides and intense soil erosion. The combination of issues present in the Gishwati landscape specifically, including high levels of poverty, steep-slope farming, increasing vulnerability to landslides, and deforestation, all can be addressed through the increase of silvopastoral systems in the landscape.
The Rwandan Ministry of Environment and the Wildlife Conservation Society Rwanda are in the last stages of approval for a $38 million USD grant from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) which includes a proposal to create silvopastoral systems on 1000 ha of pastureland using native species. While grant funding will hopefully be awarded during the fall of 2023, very little information has been fleshed out around the proposed introduction of silvopastoral systems within the Gishwati region, information that is vital for the successful implementation of grant activities. My research will ground truth and flesh out prior student research focusing on site selection for silvopastoral systems as well as indigenous species selection. Research will be conducted through a combination of interviews, ecological observation, and open-source analysis.