President Kagame signs decree on the establishment of Wildlife Conservation Society Regional Headquarters in Rwanda

Rwanda’s Presidential order has approved a decree on the establishment of Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) regional Headquarters in Rwanda.

The Wildlife Conservation Society is a non-profit international organization that is responsible for the conservation of wildlife and the management of parks around the world.

WCS’s goal is to conserve the world’s largest wild places in 14 priority regions, home to more than 50% of the world’s biodiversity.

It is headquartered in one of the largest parks in the United States (Bronx Zoo) in New York. Founded in 1895, then known as the New York Zoological Society (NYZS), it changed its name in 1993.

A Presidential Decree authorizing WCS to have a seat in Rwanda was published in the Official Gazette of 31 December 2021.

“WCS” will be licensed to have infrastructure in the country including buildings, land, equipment, offices, laboratories and other facilities that will assist in fulfilling its obligations under the terms of the agreement signed by both parties.

The agreement also stipulates that the equipment that the WCS will need in its day-to-day work will be eligible for tax exemption and that the Government will make it easier for Visa to have its international staff working in Rwanda.

These workers and their families will have the same immunity and opportunity as others on their local level.

Since 1987, WCS has been supporting the former ORTPN in Biodiversity Research and training the Volcanoes Park staff in the field of profit-making activities.

Ngango Joseph, the director of the Wildlife Conservation Society in Rwanda, told IGIHE that they are currently working on a project with the Ministry of Environment to combat the effects of climate change.

The project will be implemented in Nyungwe, Gishwati-Mukura and Volcanoes National Parks. Surrounding Communities will be helped to create profitable jobs through beekeeping, Handcrafts and planting trees in the Congo-Nile region.

The fact that the organization will be based in Rwanda will help in implementing similar projects in other countries to address the impacts of climate change.

Among other things, the organization does research on biodiversity, cross-border conservation and biodiversity activities, and identify solutions to problems that threaten the natural resources