A Survey of Hydrological Systems in the Great Virunga Landscape

Abstract

The Greater Virunga Landscape (GVL) is an interconnected chain of eleven protected areas that straddle the borders of Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo. The landscape is famous for its mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) and other endangered and endemic flora and fauna. Human threats in some of the Protected Areas (PAs) in the GVL include uncontrolled exploitation of forest resources as well as fires and the indirect pressures of demand for land. This is exacerbated by the insufficient water supply in communities that border with most of the PAs. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and Echuya Central Forest Reserve are part of the GVL and were the focus for this study.