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Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
Cyamudongo forest is a small relict forest located in the far south-west of the country, close to the town of Nyakabuye near the border with the DR Congo. Historically, it was connected to Nyungwe forest (site RW009) to the east, but its vegetation is more dense, with fewer clearings. Common tree species include
Chrysophyllum gorungosanum,
Croton spp.,
Newtonia buchananii,
Alangium chinense and
Leptonychia melanocarpa.
See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. Although impoverished due to its small size, compared with nearby Nyungwe, Cyamudongo forest holds many species typical of the Albertine Rift forests, including
Apalis argentea.
Musophaga rossae, which is not found in Nyungwe, is common in Cyamudongo, while the only Rwandan record of
Accipiter erythropus is from here. In addition, four species of the Guinea–Congo Forests biome (A05) have also been recorded (Table 3).
Non-bird biodiversity: The primate Pan troglodytes (EN) occurs and the site is known for its high diversity of butterfly species.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The site was established as a Forest Reserve in 1933, but has suffered much from clearance and fragmentation for agriculture while illegal cutting of wood occurs commonly. The remaining forest is under some protection by the local public administration, but there is little surveillance.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Cyamudongo forest (Rwanda). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/cyamudongo-forest-iba-rwanda on 22/12/2024.
