When a species disappears, a piece of God's creation goes with it.
NTIBIZIME safeguards Rwanda's threatened native tree species and the habitats that depend on them — restoring degraded land, reducing wildfires, and rebuilding biodiversity tree by tree.
The Problem
Decades of deforestation, agricultural expansion, and recurring wildfires have pushed many of Rwanda's native tree species toward extinction. Replanting programs often prioritise fast-growing exotics that produce timber quickly but fail to support pollinators, watersheds, or the wider web of life.
When native species disappear, so do the birds, insects, and soil organisms that depend on them — and the communities downstream lose the clean water, stable soils, and biodiversity that healthy forests provide.
How We Work
Four interlocking strands that protect what remains and restore what was lost.
IUCN-Listed Species Protection
Identifying, propagating, and replanting 12+ tree species listed as threatened on the IUCN Red List — including endemic and near-endemic species critical to Rwanda's biodiversity.
Native Seedling Nurseries
Community-run nurseries producing 20,000+ native seedlings annually, prioritising species that strengthen watershed health, fix nitrogen, and support local pollinators.
Habitat Restoration
Replanting degraded hillsides, riverbanks, and buffer zones around protected areas to rebuild forest cover, stabilise soil, and reconnect fragmented habitats.
Wildfire Reduction
Combining native-species replanting with community fire-watch teams to reduce wildfire frequency by 50% in target zones, protecting both biodiversity and livelihoods.
Measurable Impact
IUCN-listed species
Threatened native trees actively conserved.
Native seedlings
Produced annually for replanting.
Wildfire reduction
In target restoration zones.
“The trees our grandparents knew were disappearing. Now we grow them again, plant them on our hillsides, and watch the birds come back. This is what stewardship looks like.”— Community Nursery Lead, Kayonza District