Rwanda’s gorilla family is growing, and this September, the world will get to know 22 new members by name.
The announcement came Tuesday in Kigali, where officials, conservationists and members of the media gathered for the press conference marking the 21st edition of Kwita Izina, the country’s annual gorilla naming ceremony set for September 4 in Kinigi, Musanze District.
Eugene Mutangana, Executive Secretary of the Rwanda Nature Foundation (RNF), the agency now managing Volcanoes National Park, shared the number to a room full of journalists and partners. He also pointed to a bigger picture: the Virunga Massif, shared between Rwanda, DR Congo and Uganda, is now home to roughly 1,100 mountain gorillas, making them the only great ape species whose population keeps climbing.
Eugene Mutangana, Executive Secretary, Rwanda Nature Foundation, at the #KwitaIzina Press Conference
That growth, he was careful to note, did not happen on its own. He credited the achievement to decades of collaboration among government agencies, conservation groups, researchers, vets, rangers, regional partners and local communities. Since the first naming ceremony in 2005, 438 mountain gorillas have received their names, each one, as Mutangana put it, standing for far more than a birth. It represents the daily work of rangers, vets and researchers keeping the species alive.
This year’s Kwita Izina will stretch beyond the ceremony itself. The programme includes a community project launch, familiarisation trips for international travel media and trade partners, a conservation exhibition, gorilla trekking experiences, and of course, the naming of the 22 newest members of the gorilla family.
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The conservation story is also an economic one. To date, close to Rwf23 billion, about $16 million, has gone into nearly 1,300 community projects around the park: schools, health centres, water infrastructure and livelihood programmes that touch the people living alongside the gorillas, not just the animals themselves.
Thadee Twagirimana, Director General of Environment and Climate Change at the Ministry of Environment – Rwanda
That link between conservation and community came up throughout the morning’s remarks. Jackson Hakiza, Director General of the Rwanda Tourism Chamber, spoke about what sustainable tourism should actually deliver: real benefits and an active role for communities in their own development, not just visitor numbers on a report. Thadee Twagirimana, Director General of Environment and Climate Change at the Rwanda Environment Management Authority, made the case that Rwanda’s ambitions as a premium destination and its environmental record have to move together, since a world class tourism destination cannot afford to be anything less on the environmental side either.
Maurice Mugabowagahunde, Governor of the Northern Province
Maurice Mugabowagahunde, Governor of Rwanda’s Northern Province, framed Kwita Izina as a matter of pride, especially for the communities of the north who live closest to the park. For him, the ceremony is proof of how far Rwanda has come in protecting its biodiversity while opening the door to more visitors and partners.
Mutangana closed with a reminder of what the ceremony has come to represent over two decades: conservation that is not only about protecting wildlife, but about creating opportunity for people, strengthening communities, growing tourism and leaving a natural environment worth inheriting.
Mark your calendar for September 4. Kinigi will once again welcome the world to meet Rwanda’s newest gorillas.
#VisitRwanda #KwitaIzina