Population Declines and Land Use Management in Rwanda

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Rwanda, like several other sub‑Saharan African (SSA) countries, experienced a population boom following the Tutsi genocide of 1994. However, the growing population exacerbated the impact of human activities, such as deforestation, on the environment. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of population decline on land use management, focussing particularly on the issues faced by the inhabitants of Rwanda’s Jali and Kigali mountains. Population decline was recognised as the main contributing factor to land use management, so the government policy of relocating people from the Jali and Kigali mountains, as well as the literature, identified many issues, such as settlement in high‑risk locations, areas of degradation and general environmental issues, which have been analysed in this paper. Due to lack of sufficient research on the topic, this study uses quantitative questionnaires involving 1,000 households. Moreover, a mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) approach has been employed for a better understanding of phonemes and to help governments develop better environmental policies in the future. It also provides some suggestions for future research on the issues and proposes recommendations for interventions.