A scientific expedition of employees of the Department of Hydrobiology of the US Institute of Biology to Rwanda took place in June this year. Scientific research was conducted jointly with the Rwanda Environmental Monitoring Agency (REMA) and the University of Rwanda.
Research work was carried out on the flowing waters flowing into Lake Kivu, under which there are rich deposits of natural gas. The aim of the study was to determine the taxonomic structures of microinvertebrates and macroinvertebrates of rivers and streams depending on the environmental conditions of the area. The expedition was attended by prof. dr hab. Robert Czerniawski, Dr. Tomasz Krepski, Dr. Łukasz Sługocki and PhD student MSc. Katarzyna Kuczyńska, graduate of environmental protection.
Particular attention was paid to the types of crops, dominated by coffee, tea and banana plantations, and to a lesser extent amaranth, soybeans and beans. The analysis of the collected biological samples will allow to determine the biodiversity of the flowing waters, their ecological status and, above all, the impact of these watercourses on the water quality of Lake Kivu, one of the most valuable natural lakes in Central Africa. The field work was conducted with help of local inhabitants as well who showed great interest in basic activities. This collaboration was a very pleasant new experience for the participants of the expedition.
Many of the rivers studied by our scientists have not been subjected to such research so far, and certainly so detailed and so intensive. A representative number of samples was collected, the analysis of which will allow for the publication of interesting results and the drawing of new conclusions, giving the possibility of conducting new research for many years to come in the equatorial region of Africa.
Students of Environmental Protection Management will be involved in laboratory work. At the turn of 2023/2024, together with our partners from Rwanda, workshops are planned in the field of assessing the condition of aquatic ecosystems, in the field of the same subjects as we carry out in the field of Environmental Protection Management and in accordance with the requirements set by the European Union.
Special thanks are due to colleagues from REMA: Dr. Stephanie Kamondo and Dr. Erica Mudakikwa, who created an extremely friendly working atmosphere, and prof. Radosław Miśkiewicz, Aleksandra Cholewa, MA and Joseph Buter from LUNA SMELTER HOLDING, who took our scientists under their logistical care. In addition, LUNA SMELTER HOLDING co-financed the expedition, for which special thanks are due to prof. Radosław Miśkiewicz, President of the Management Board.
The expedition was the aftermath of an earlier visit by dr. hab. Kinga Flaga-Gieruszyńska, prof. US – Vice-Rector for US Organization and as a result of the signed agreement between the University of Szczecin and the University of Rwanda and the Rwanda Environmental Monitoring Agency.
