Sustainable mountain development in East Africa in a changing climate

Burundi’s Mountains Burundi is a mountainous country. Its altitude ranges from about 800 m at Lake Tanganyika to 2,608 m on Mount Teza in the Kibira National Park. Mountain Protection in Burundi is of high priority because the majority of protected areas in Burundi are in the mountains. These protected mountain areas are important water towers – the main rivers feeding the watersheds of the Nile and Congo have their sources inside the forest of Kibira National Park, one of the few mountainous forests in the country. Key Challenges • The massive mountains in the country are not classified as protected areas, and these include Inanzerwe Kibimbi, Birime, and Mpungwe.

Policy responses Even if there are no policies which focus specifically on mountains, some mountains have been reforested through the national reforestation programme, and receive attention for protection against bushfires and poaching.Eachyear,theGovernmentofBurundiprovides about 10 million seedlings for reforestation. Kibimbi and Inanzerwe mountains are important attractions for hiking, and are also famous for hot springs. These mountains support the livelihoods of many Burundians through grazing, drinking water, construction materials, and land for farming. Lesson learned In Burundi, there are projects that deal with climate change adaptation such as TAMP KAGERA which also include the WatershedManagement and Climate Resilience Improvement Project (PABVARC), and the Biodiversity Project.

Recommendations • Funds must be made available to intervene in all the national mountain ecosystems • Awareness raising needs to be a continuous activity Policies and institutional Framework In Burundi, there are no policies which focus specifically on mountains. However, there are a number of projects and policies where mountains and forest ecosystems are taken into consideration, and they include: • Strategic Framework for growth and fight against poverty, Phase II (CSLPII) • National Strategy and Action Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change • National strategy and action plan on Biodiversity • Policy of the Ministry of Water, Environment, Land management and Urban planning • National environmental Strategy • National Forestry policy • Watershed Management and Climate Resilience Improvement Project in Burundi (PABVARC), • Reforestation project of a range of mountain Inanzerwe which starts from Bururi province to Ruyigi Province • Biodiversity Project which will end this year • TAMP KAGERA project which ended Mountain issues are coordinated by various institutions, including: • Ministry of Water, Environment, Land Management and Urban Planning through the Burundi Geographical Institute (IGEBU), and the Burundi Office of the Environment Protection (OBPE) • National Commission on Environment

• Bushfires are common • Poaching is widespread

• Funds for mountain protection are limited • Deforestation rates are high in mountain areas

Women harvesting tea leaves in Rwegura, Burundi

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