After the closure of The Great Ape Trust/Gishwati Area Conservation Program (GACP), the main concern of Forest of Hope was to continue to inhibit the illegal use of Gishwati Forest resources. To reinforce the protection of the Gishwati forest, in June 2013, Forest of Hope launched the Community Forest Protection Initiative (CFPI), a new approach that aimed at helping communities around the forest to play an active role in its protection. Six Community Forest Protection Initiative Agents (eco-guards) were selected by inhabitants of their villages. The role of these eco-guards was to patrol the forest and educate local people about its importance and biodiversity. In 2014, in collaboration with Rutsiro District, Forest of Hope established six community committees to support and monitor the eco-guards’ work and help them report crimes to law enforcement officials. Hence, the active contribution of all stakeholders from the local community and a clear perspective on the responsibilities and duties were critical elements to the success of Forest of Hope’s effort to protect Gishwati Forest.

Up to October 2019, Forest of Hope employed 6 eco-guards who were patrolling the Gishwati natural forest daily with the support of 6 Community Forest Protection Committees whose role was to monitor the work of eco-guards and report non-sustainable forest use to the local leaders and the National Police. Moreover, Forest of Hope’s role was working with the eco-guards, assisting eco-guards and Cells’ officials in preparing and sharing reports with stakeholders and preparing and organizing regular stakeholder meetings to monitor the progress and discuss issues.

In 2015, the government of Rwanda upgraded the Gishwati and Mukura natural forests to a national park, and the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) took over the management of Gishwati-Mukura National Park and deployed rangers in the areas. With this larger protection we are confident that the remaining issues will be stopped.

To ensure the sustainability of the achievements made, Forest of Hope is collaborating with RDB in:

1. - Community education and outreach around Gishwati-Mukura National Park;
2. - Reducing human-wildlife conflicts by mitigating crop raiding conflict and supporting local people to improve livelihoods through income generation and capacity building;
3. - Providing technical advice to RDB on Gishwati-Mukura National Park biodiversity, ecosystem services, local people and research;
4. - Investigating opportunities to strengthen the management of the Gishwati-Mukura National Park through establishing relationships with donors and relevant stakeholders
5. - Supporting the Community Tourism Development and Management as an alternative to the forest resources by coordinating Community Tourism around Gishwati-Mukura National Park and assisting community groups in eco-tourism development and management;