Senate urges faster review of wildlife compensation guidelines

The Senate asked government to expedite the revision of a ministerial order to expand the list of wild animals whose damages must be compensated. Senators also called for stray animals to be returned to national parks and other protected areas. These recommendations were adopted on Wednesday, July 15, after senators considered a report by the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, National Unity and Security on measures to curb wildlife attacks and property damage. ALSO READ: Wildlife left outside Akagera fence fuels conflict with community Presenting the report, Senator Hadija Ndangiza Murangwa said the committee's assessment was prompted by a rise in wildlife-related incidents reported by the Special Guarantee Fund (SGF). From March, the committee carried out this assessment based on the SGF report, which showed that cases related to wildlife attacks keep increasing. Between 2023/24 and 2024/25, the reported incidents increased by nearly 30 per cent to 15,023. Compensation also increased by 19.2 per cent, from about Rwf1 billion to Rwf1.193 billion. ALSO READ: Stop wild animals from attacking people “Because both the cases and compensation kept increasing, we saw that there was a serious issue,” Murangwa said. The senate committee visited communities around Akagera, Gishwati, Mukura and other protected areas to assess the effectiveness of existing measures to prevent human-wildlife conflict. Murangwa said one of the key findings was that several wild animals responsible for widespread crop damages remain outside the compensation framework. We found that there are many animals whose damage is not compensated through the Special Guarantee Fund, including monkeys and chimpanzees, yet they cause significant damage,” she said. ALSO READ: How Akagera ended big five poaching Murangwa said the committee found that baboons have become a major nuisance in parts of Nyagatare, where they not only raid farms but also climb onto houses. In Nyagatare, there are many baboons that destroy crops...They climb onto rooftops, scratch the iron sheets, make noise and damage them. They are even so skilled that they steal food while people are cooking, she said. She said expanding the compensation list should go hand in hand with research to understand why some animals leave protected areas. She told senators that government was reviewing the ministerial order governing compensation and said the exercise should be completed as soon as possible. Senator Jean Pierre Dusingizemungu called for urgent intervention in Huye District, where residents have repeatedly raised concerns about monkeys. In Huye District, monkeys continue to destroy people's crops. No official or senator visits the area and leaves without hearing about this issue, yet people continue receiving promises that it will be addressed,” Dusimgizemungu said. “There is a need for an emergency measure, including adding monkeys to the list of animals whose damage qualifies for compensation. Senator Adrie Umuhire also supported the recommendation to expand the list of animals whose damages are compensated. Murangwa said revising the ministerial order should be informed by further research into why some wildlife increasingly leaves protected areas. “There is also a need for joint efforts to remove the animals from communities while ensuring that people whose property has been damaged are compensated. There is also a need for research to understand what is pushing these animals to leave the parks. Rwanda Development Board told us there is a need for stronger coordination through a task force.

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Senate urges faster review of wildlife compensation guidelines