Musanze District in Northern Province is one of the most attractive tourism destinations in Rwanda as it is the gateway to the Volcanoes National Park, the home of mountain gorillas. Musanze has different tourism experiences such as gorilla trekking, golden monkey watching, hiking the volcanoes and community-based tourism activities that draw visitors from around the World.
Tourism in Musanze bring jobs and revenues, but it also creates environmental pressure that must be carefully managed in order to help the district remain a sustainable tourism destination. In today’s post, we explore the main environmental harms linked to tourism activities in Musanze District.
Deforestation and wildlife loss
Deforestation and wildlife loss have a direct and negative impact on tourism, especially in nature-based tourism destinations like Musanze, which relies on attractions such as the Volcanoes National Park and the mountain gorillas. Deforestation occurs when forest are cleared for agriculture, construction, firewood collection and bush burning. This lead to the destruction of natural habitat of wildlife leading to reduced biodiversity. Moreover, deforestation disrupts the ecological balance, making the environment more prone to soil erosion and landslides, which can damage tourism infrastructures like roads and tourism trails.
According to the Global Forest Watch (2025), from 2002 up to 2023, Musanze lost 29ha of forest, equivalent to 4% of the total forest area in the districts. The increasing demand for farmland, firewood and urbanization led to the deforestation in areas surrounding the Volcanoes National park and other natural reserve, this threatens wildlife habitats like gorillas.
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Human-wildlife conflicts
Human-wildlife conflict is an issue affecting both conservation efforts and tourism industry. One of the most common forms of this issue in Musanze is the crop raiding by wild animals such as gorillas, buffaloes, monkeys and elephants. These animals sometimes cause significant economic losses to local communities.
Apart from destroying crops, occasional incidents of wildlife attacking or threatening local residents sometimes create fear and tensions in communities living near the Volcanoes National Park. In response, some local people set traps or poison these animals. For example in November 2021, a buffaloes attacked residents in Nyange Sector and injured four children. Such events also happened in May 2022, when a Musanze resident named Agnes Mukarugwiza was killed by a buffalo that had escaped from Volcanoes National Park. Human-wildlife conflict undermines hinders conservation efforts and can lead to the decline of wildlife populations, ultimately affecting the attractiveness of a tourism destination.
Soil erosion and land degradation
Soil erosion and land degradation are also environmental challenges that threaten tourism activities in Musanze. Musanze is located in volcanic landscapes and high slope areas that are effected by erosion due to unsustainable farming, deforestation and heavy rainfalls. This leads to the loss of fertile topsoil, landslides and the siting of rivers and wetlands. All of these issues degrade the natural beauty and ecological nature that tourists come to experience.
Soil erosion and land degradation also lead to the destruction of tourism infrastructures such as roads, trails and lodges, leading to disruption of tourism activities. Landslides trigged by soil erosion sometimes block key access routes to the park and nearby attractions, posing safety risk to tourists. For example, on 7th May 2020, the road from Kigali to Musanze was blocked by landslides resulting from heavy torrential rains. It took more than 20 hours to reopen the road.
In conclusion, Musanze District, with its iconic mountain gorillas, volcanic landscapes and rich cultural heritages, holds a unique position as one of Rwanda’s top tourism destinations. However, its continued success and sustainability depends on how effective economic, social cultural and environmental issues are addressed. Issues like deforestation, human-wildlife conflicts and soil erosion are the environmental impact that result from tourism activities in Musanze.
