Akagera National Park

"Akagera" redirects here. For the river, see Kagera River.

Topis above Akagera valley

Akagera National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Satellite photo from July 2004, showing fires (red) set by poachers next to a burnt section (gray) in the northern section of the densely forested (bright green) park (inset).
Location	Rwanda
Coordinates	1°38′S 30°47′E
Area	2,500km²
Established	1934

The Akagera National Park (Template:Lang-fr) covers 2,500km² in north eastern Rwanda, against the Tanzanian border. It was founded in 1934 to protect animals in three ecoregions: savannah, mountain and swamp. It includes lakes including Lake Shakani and Lake Ihema.

Much of the savannah area of the park was settled in the late 1990s by former refugees returning after the end of the Rwandan Civil War, but the other regions remain relatively remote. Animals which fled during the upheavals are now returning. The park is named for the Kagera River which flows through it.

Literature

• Vande weghe, Jean Pierre: Akagera: Land of water, grass and fire / Jean Pierre Vande weghe. With collaboration of Thérèse Abandibakobwa, José Kalpers a.o. Photography by Philippe Dejace. Translated by Alicia L. Spruijt-Ray. - Brussels: World Wildlife Fund for Nature, 1990

External links

• World Conservation Society

• October 2004 pictures