The agreements were signed in Kigali on November 21, 2025, during RWCA's 10th anniversary celebrations, which highlighted the organisation's achievements in crane conservation over the past decade.
Representatives from wildlife organisations in Burundi, Tanzania, and Uganda attended the ceremony and joined RWCA in signing the collaborative agreements. Partner organisations include Nature Uganda and the International Crane Foundation from Uganda, Nature Tanzania, and the Association Burundaise pour la Protection de la Nature from Burundi.
Under the agreements, the organisations will work together to protect cranes across a 24,904-square-kilometre area. This includes the Rwandan border regions, home to 1,030 cranes, representing 82% of the national population, as well as 787 cranes in neighbouring Uganda. Additional coverage includes 266 cranes in Tanzania's border areas and 19 cranes in Burundi.
RWCA founder and Executive Director, Dr Olivier Nsengimana, said surveys showed that some Rwandan cranes, especially those in wetlands near borders, cross into neighbouring countries without returning, with their survival uncertain outside Rwanda.
'In wetlands near borders such as Akagera, Akanyaru, and Kagitumba, crane numbers fluctuate and are generally low, but the birds are not dying. Some cross borders, while populations in protected wetlands like Urugezi increase each year. In wetlands used for agriculture, cranes may leave during planting seasons,' he said.
Dr Nsengimana added that GPS tracking of some cranes revealed their cross-border movements, prompting RWCA to collaborate with local organisations to protect the birds, educate communities, and promote shared use of tracking technology.
'We realised that monitoring these cranes would require complex permits, so we signed agreements with organisations in Burundi, Tanzania, and Uganda to jointly protect cranes in the region, share information, and take coordinated action,' he said.
Over the past decade, RWCA has helped increase Rwanda's crane population from fewer than 300 in 2015 to 1,245 today. Public awareness of crane conservation has grown, and the organisation has expanded from five volunteer staff to 300 permanent employees.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Fidèle Bingwa, praised RWCA's dedication, noting that the organisation's work over the past 10 years has strengthened government efforts in biodiversity conservation and produced tangible results.
IGIHE
