Rwandaisoftencalledthe“landofathousandhills.”Intheshadowofanextinctvolcanosittwolakes,BureraandRuhondo.AlsointhisvalleyisRugeziMarsh.Thiswetlandcoversawidearea.Itcontrols,holds,andfiltersthewaterthatflowsintothelakes.Idoalotofmywork here.

Morethan40speciesofbirdsrelyonthemarsh,butpeopledo,too.Itisasourceofbothwaterandpower.WaterseepsthroughthemarshandfeedsLakeBurera,whichinturnfeedsthehydroelectricNtarukapower station.

Yearsago,mycountrysufferedanenergycrisis.Powerproducedbythepowerstationdropped.WaterlevelsinLakeBureradropped,too.Wehadnottakencareofourmarshland.Therewastoomuchhumanactivityandtoolittlerainfalltoreplenishthis ecosystem.

MuchofRwanda’sdensepopulationdependsonagriculture.Thisputsalotofpressureonits wetlands.

Inthelasttwodecades,we’vetriedtorestoretheRugezimarshland.We’vestoppedcertaindrainageandfarmingactivities.We’vetriedtoblockmostfishing.Someeffortsare working.

Andbelieveitornot,the“FlyingFlowers”ofmychildhoodmightbepartofthe solution!

Itturnsout,dragonfliesaregoodindicatorsofthehealthofawetland.Dragonfliesspendmostoftheirlifecycleinthewater.Forthemtothrive,thewatermustbeclean.Theyalsoneedhealthyplantsnearby.Thishelpsthemhidefrom predators.

So,thepresenceofdragonfliesatRugeziisasignofgoodhealth.That’swhyIcreatedamonitoringsystem,usingdragonflies,tohelpusidentifyareasthatneed protecting.

Asthemarshcontinuestorecover,Iamconfidentwewillseemoreandmore“flyingflowers”onthe river!