The Wildlife Conservation Society to open offices in Rwanda
Francis Byaruhanga
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), a non-profit international organization that is responsible for the conservation of wildlife and management of parks around the world, has been approved to have a District Headquarters in Rwanda.
Founded in 1895, and then known as the New York Zoological Society (NYZS), it changed its name in 1993 and now its main office is headquartered in one of the largest parks in the United States (Bronx Zoo) in New York.
The agreement authorizing WCS to have a seat in Rwanda was published in the Official Gazette of 31 December 2021.
“Whereas Wildlife Conservation Society has decided to establish its Regional Headquarters in Kigali, Rwanda,” wrote the preamble of the agreement signed by both parties.
WCS will be licensed to have an 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 WCS will be exempted from tax 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 at their local level working in Rwanda.
WCS started operating in 1987 by providing assistance to the former ORTPN Center for Tourism and Conservation of National Parks in Biodiversity Research, training the residents of the Volcanoes Park in the field of profit-making activities.
The project will run in Nyungwe, Gishwati-Mukura and Volcanoes National Parks. Neighbors will be helped to create profitable jobs through beekeeping and crafts and planting trees in the Congo-Nile region.
Among other things, the organization does, is research on biodiversity, cross-border conservation and biodiversity activities, and solutions to problems that threaten the natural resources of the population and more.
The fact that the organization is based in Rwanda will help in implementing similar projects in other countries in the region to address the impacts of climate change.
