Editing Rwanda (section)

=== Biodiversity ===
{{Main|Wildlife of Rwanda}}
[[File:Mountain gorilla from Susa Group in Karisimbi thicket of Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. Emmanuel Kwizera.jpg|left|thumb|[[Volcanoes National Park]] is the home of the largest population of [[mountain gorillas]] in the world.]]

In prehistoric times, [[montane forest]] occupied one-third of the territory of present-day Rwanda. Naturally occurring vegetation is now mostly restricted to the [[National parks of Rwanda|three national parks]], with [[Terrace (agriculture)|terraced agriculture]] dominating the rest of the country.{{sfn|Briggs|Booth|2006|pp=3–4}} [[Nyungwe Forest|Nyungwe]], the largest remaining tract of forest, contains 200 species of tree as well as [[orchid]]s and [[begonia]]s.{{sfn|King|2007|p=11}} Vegetation in the [[Volcanoes National Park]] is mostly [[bamboo]] and moorland, with small areas of forest.{{sfn|Briggs|Booth|2006|pp=3–4}} By contrast, Akagera has a [[savanna]] ecosystem in which [[acacia]] dominates the flora. There are several rare or endangered plant species in Akagera, including ''[[Markhamia lutea]]'' and ''[[Eulophia guineensis]]''.{{sfn|REMA (Chapter 5)|2009|p=3}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.climatelinks.org/sites/default/files/asset/document/rwanda_adaptation_fact_sheet_jan2012.pdf |title=Climate Change Adaption in Rwanda |publisher=USAID |access-date=14 March 2022 |archive-date=7 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220207011141/https://www.climatelinks.org/sites/default/files/asset/document/rwanda_adaptation_fact_sheet_jan2012.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

The greatest diversity of large mammals is found in the three national parks, which are designated conservation areas.{{sfn|Government of Rwanda (II)}} Akagera contains typical savanna animals such as giraffes and elephants,{{sfn|RDB (III)}} while Volcanoes is home to an estimated one-third of the worldwide [[mountain gorilla]] population.{{sfn|RDB (I)|2010}} Nyungwe Forest boasts thirteen primate species including [[common chimpanzee]]s and [[Black-and-white colobus|Ruwenzori colobus]] arboreal monkeys; the Ruwenzori colobus move in groups of up to 400 individuals, the largest troop size of any primate in Africa.{{sfn|Briggs|Booth|2006|p=140}}
[[File:Talk - Flickr - askmeaks.jpg|upright|thumb|Giraffe in Akagera National Park]]
Rwanda's population of [[lion]]s was destroyed in the aftermath of the genocide of 1994, as national parks were turned into camps for displaced people and the remaining animals were poisoned by cattle herders. In June 2015, two South African parks donated seven lions to [[Akagera National Park]], reestablishing a lion population in Rwanda.{{sfn|Smith|2015}} The lions were held initially in a fenced-off area of the park, and then collared and released into the wild a month later.{{sfn|The New Times|2015}}

Eighteen endangered black rhinos were brought to Rwanda in 2017 from South Africa.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/03/black-rhinos-return-to-rwanda-10-years-after-disappearance |title=Black rhinos return to Rwanda 10 years after disappearance |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=3 May 2017 |website=The Guardian |access-date=17 December 2022 |archive-date=29 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129042039/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/03/black-rhinos-return-to-rwanda-10-years-after-disappearance |url-status=live }}</ref> After positive results, five more black rhinos were delivered to Akagera National Park from zoos all over Europe in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cntraveler.com/story/rwanda-just-pulled-off-the-largest-transport-of-rhinos-from-europe-to-africa |title=Rwanda Just Pulled Off the Largest Transport of Rhinos From Europe to Africa |date=26 June 2019 |website=Condé Nast Traveler |access-date=17 December 2022 |archive-date=17 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217212041/https://www.cntraveler.com/story/rwanda-just-pulled-off-the-largest-transport-of-rhinos-from-europe-to-africa |url-status=live }}</ref>

Similarly, the white rhino population is growing in Rwanda. In 2021, Rwanda received 30 white rhinos from South Africa with the goal of Akagera being a safe breeding ground for the near-threatened species.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/29/white-rhinos-flown-from-south-africa-to-rwanda-in-largest-single-translocation |title=White rhinos flown from South Africa to Rwanda in largest single translocation |date=29 November 2021 |website=The Guardian |access-date=17 December 2022 |archive-date=17 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217212033/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/29/white-rhinos-flown-from-south-africa-to-rwanda-in-largest-single-translocation |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/11/30/1060057463/rhinos-translocation-move-white-rwanda-south-africa |title=Conservationists flew 30 white rhinos to Rwanda in a huge operation to protect them |first=Joe |last=Hernandez |work=NPR |date=30 November 2021 |access-date=17 December 2022 |archive-date=17 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217212031/https://www.npr.org/2021/11/30/1060057463/rhinos-translocation-move-white-rwanda-south-africa |url-status=live}}</ref>

There are 670 [[List of birds of Rwanda|bird species in Rwanda]], with variation between the east and the west.{{sfn|King|2007|p=15}} Nyungwe Forest, in the west, has 280 recorded species, of which 26 are endemic to the Albertine Rift;{{sfn|King|2007|p=15}} endemic species include the [[Rwenzori turaco]] and [[handsome spurfowl]].{{sfn|WCS}} Eastern Rwanda, by contrast, features savanna birds such as the [[black-headed gonolek]] and those associated with swamps and lakes, including [[stork]]s and [[Crane (bird)|cranes]].{{sfn|King|2007|p=15}}

Recent entomological work in the country has revealed a rich diversity of [[praying mantises]],{{sfn|Tedrow|2015}} including a new species ''Dystacta tigrifrutex'', dubbed the "bush tiger mantis".{{sfn|Maynard|2014}}

Rwanda contains three terrestrial ecoregions: [[Albertine Rift montane forests]], [[Victoria Basin forest-savanna mosaic]], and [[Ruwenzori-Virunga montane moorlands]].<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{cite journal |last1=Dinerstein |first1=Eric |last2=Olson |first2=David |last3=Joshi |first3=Anup |last4=Vynne |first4=Carly |last5=Burgess |first5=Neil D. |last6=Wikramanayake |first6=Eric |last7=Hahn |first7=Nathan |last8=Palminteri |first8=Suzanne |last9=Hedao |first9=Prashant |last10=Noss |first10=Reed |last11=Hansen |first11=Matt |last12=Locke |first12=Harvey |last13=Ellis |first13=Erle C |last14=Jones |first14=Benjamin |last15=Barber |first15=Charles Victor |last16=Hayes |first16=Randy |last17=Kormos |first17=Cyril |last18=Martin |first18=Vance |last19=Crist |first19=Eileen |last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes |last21=Price |first21=Lori |last22=Baillie |first22=Jonathan E.M. |last23=Weeden |first23=Don |last24=Suckling |first24=Kierán |last25=Davis |first25=Crystal |last26=Sizer |first26=Nigel |last27=Moore |first27=Rebecca |last28=Thau |first28=David |last29=Birch |first29=Tanya |last30=Potapov|first30=Peter |last31=Turubanova |first31=Svetlana |last32=Tyukavina |first32=Alexandra |last33=de Souza |first33=Nadia |last34=Pintea |first34=Lilian |last35=Brito |first35=José C. |last36=Llewellyn |first36=Othman A. |last37=Miller |first37=Anthony G. |last38=Patzelt |first38=Annette |last39=Ghazanfar |first39=Shahina A. |last40=Timberlake |first40=Jonathan |last41=Klöser |first41=Heinz |last42=Shennan-Farpón |first42=Yara |last43=Kindt |first43=Roeland |last44=Lillesø |first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow |last45=van Breugel |first45=Paulo |last46=Graudal |first46=Lars |last47=Voge |first47=Maianna |last48=Al-Shammari |first48=Khalaf F. |last49=Saleem |first49=Muhammad |display-authors=1 |title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm |journal=BioScience |volume=67 |issue=6 |year=2017 |pages=534–545 |issn=0006-3568 |doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014 |pmid=28608869 |pmc=5451287 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The country had a 2019 [[Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] mean score of 3.85/10, ranking it 139th globally out of 172 countries.<ref name="FLII-Supplementary">{{cite journal |last1=Grantham |first1=H.S. |last2=Duncan |first2=A. |last3=Evans |first3=T.D. |last4=Jones |first4=K.R. |last5=Beyer |first5=H.L. |last6=Schuster |first6=R. |last7=Walston |first7=J. |last8=Ray |first8=J.C. |last9=Robinson |first9=J.G. |last10=Callow |first10=M. |last11=Clements |first11=T. |last12=Costa |first12=H.M. |last13=DeGemmis |first13=A. |last14=Elsen |first14=P.R. |last15=Ervin |first15=J. |last16=Franco |first16=P. |last17=Goldman |first17=E. |last18=Goetz |first18=S. |last19=Hansen |first19=A. |last20=Hofsvang |first20=E. |last21=Jantz |first21=P. |last22=Jupiter |first22=S. |last23=Kang |first23=A. |last24=Langhammer |first24=P. |last25=Laurance |first25=W.F. |last26=Lieberman |first26=S. |last27=Linkie |first27=M. |last28=Malhi |first28=Y. |last29=Maxwell |first29=S. |last30=Mendez |first30=M. |last31=Mittermeier |first31=R. |last32=Murray |first32=N.J. |last33=Possingham |first33=H. |last34=Radachowsky |first34=J. |last35=Saatchi |first35=S. |last36=Samper |first36=C. |last37=Silverman |first37=J. |last38=Shapiro |first38=A. |last39=Strassburg |first39=B. |last40=Stevens |first40=T. |last41=Stokes |first41=E. |last42=Taylor |first42=R. |last43=Tear |first43=T. |last44=Tizard |first44=R. |last45=Venter |first45=O. |last46=Visconti |first46=P. |last47=Wang |first47=S. |last48=Watson |first48=J.E.M. |display-authors=1 |title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity – Supplementary Material |journal=Nature Communications |volume=11 |issue=1 |year=2020 |page=5978 |issn=2041-1723 |pmid=33293507 |pmc=7723057 |bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3 |doi-access=free}}</ref>