A List of Burundi Natural Reserves
Rwihinda Lake Natural Reserve
Located at geographical coordinates of 30° 4.00′ East and 2° 33.00′ south, the Rwihinda Lake Managed Nature Reserve is in northern Burundi, immediately north of the town of Kirundo close to the Rwandan border. Lake Rwihinda was known in the past as “Lac aux Oiseaux” (i.e. lake of birds).
It lies a little way upstream of the Akanyaru wetlands (RW 005), to the north-west. This IBA is located within the
province of Kirundo at 1,400 m of altitude. The area of the lake is 425 ha, but the total protected area has been extended to 8,000 ha, including the swamps of Nyavyamo.
During the water bird census carried out in 2007, 189 bird species were counted. Out of the number of species counted, fifteen are on the red list of IUCN.
Rusizi Nature Reserve, the former ‘Rusizi National Park’ is located north-west of Bujumbura against the international frontier with DR Congo. It is made up of two parts; a strip of flood-plain about 2 km wide and
35 km long beside the east bank of Rusizi River and, to the south, a smaller area of1,200 ha comprising the delta of the Rusizi at the point where it enters Lake Tanganyika
Bururi Forest is highland rainforest situated on the extreme southern edge of the Congo-Nile divide and is lying immediately west of the town of Bururi in south-western Burundi. The natural evergreen forest covers 1,980 ha and the remaining area (621ha) is covered by pine plantation of Pinus patula. At least 93 tree species occur with dominant species of Strombosia scheffleri, Gambeya gorungosanum and Myrianthus holstii.
The area is situated at a biogeographical crossroads such that, in addition to holding many plant and animal species of the rainforest forests of the Congo-Nile divide, it holds also species of Zambezian region, of the drier savannah areas of the east and even of the lowland evergreen forests of the Congo basin. Annual rainfall varies from 1,200
mm to 2,400 mm