Rwanda Named 22 Baby Gorillas, and Sold a Conservation Model
RWANDA · CULTURE
Key Facts
—The ceremony: Twenty-two baby mountain gorillas born over the past year were named at Kinigi at the 21st Kwita Izina.
—The running total: More than 438 mountain gorillas have been named since the event became annual in 2005.
—The theme: This year’s theme was “Conservation is Life: Sustaining the Future”.
—The namers: They included Patrice Evra, Mamadou Sakho, Olympic high-jump champion Mutaz Essa Barshim and cycling federation president David Lappartient.
—Institutional weight: Shaikha Al Nuwais, Secretary-General of UN Tourism, named Ishakwe; Rio Tinto chairman Dominic Barton named Umukondo.
—Rwandans on the list: Namers also included Jeanette Uwimbabazi, a Nyungwe National Park ranger working against wildlife crime.
—The origin: The ceremony adapts a Rwandan tradition of naming newborn children in front of family and community.
—The catch: Naming gorillas is the shop window; the revenue-sharing that keeps the model working returns 10% of park income.
Kwita Izina named 22 baby mountain gorillas at Kinigi this year, taking the total past 438 since the ceremony became annual in 2005. It is a naming ritual, a conservation record and, quite deliberately, a tourism sales pitch.
What happened at Kinigi
Twenty-two mountain gorillas born over the past year were named one by one at Rwanda’s annual ceremony. Among the names given were Ishakwe, Umukondo, Shikama, Inkera, Rugamba, Umucyo and Muganura.
Prime Minister Justin Nsengiyumva represented President Paul Kagame and placed the celebration in the context of Rwanda’s wider conservation ambitions. The theme was Conservation is Life: Sustaining the Future.
The event is now in its 21st year, and more than 438 gorillas have been named since 2005.
Where the ritual comes from
The ceremony adapts an old Rwandan practice of naming newborn children in the presence of family and community. Rwanda applied that form to its mountain gorillas.
The effect is to move each animal from a scientific record into a public one. A gorilla that would otherwise exist in a conservation database is named in front of thousands of people.
The names carry meaning. Some mark strength, leadership or resilience; others point at values Rwanda wants attached to its conservation story.
Kwita Izina as an economic instrument
The argument Rwanda has spent two decades making is that protecting nature and developing economically are not opposed. Conservation generates tourism, tourism supports communities, and communities then have a reason to protect the forest.
Gorilla permits in Rwanda are among the most expensive wildlife experiences in the world, and a share of tourism revenue is directed to communities around the parks. That revenue-sharing is the mechanism the whole model rests on.
It is a real policy rather than a slogan, and it is also fragile. High-price, low-volume tourism is exposed to any shock that stops long-haul travel.
The guest list is the strategy
This year’s namers included the former Manchester United and France captain Patrice Evra, the former Paris Saint-Germain captain Mamadou Sakho, the Olympic high jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim and David Lappartient, president of the international cycling federation.
They were joined by Shaikha Al Nuwais, Secretary-General of UN Tourism and the first woman to lead the organisation, and by Dominic Barton, chairman of Rio Tinto. Alastair Fothergill, the filmmaker behind Planet Earth, named Mpinga.
That is a carefully assembled list covering sport, tourism governance, mining capital and natural-history broadcasting. Each guest carries a different audience home.
The Rwandans who were also named
Alongside the international guests were Rwandans whose work happens away from any spotlight, including Jeanette Uwimbabazi, a ranger at Nyungwe National Park who works against wildlife crime. Including her is a deliberate corrective.
Conservation in the region is delivered by rangers, trackers and community scouts, often at physical risk. The naming ceremony is one of the few moments that fact becomes visible.
It also matters for recruitment. A job that is publicly honoured is easier to fill.
The recovery behind the celebration
The mountain gorilla is one of the few large mammals whose numbers have risen in recent decades, after decades of decline. That recovery is the reason the ceremony exists at all.
It was achieved through sustained anti-poaching work, veterinary intervention and cross-border cooperation between Rwanda, Uganda and DR Congo. None of those is cheap or quick.
The population remains small and concentrated, which means it is still vulnerable to disease and to instability in the wider region.
The risk nobody names at the ceremony
The gorillas live in a landscape that crosses into eastern DR Congo, where armed conflict has continued for years. Conservation work there has been repeatedly interrupted, and rangers have been killed.
Rwanda’s own role in that conflict is disputed and politically charged, and it is not the subject of this ceremony. It is nonetheless part of the environment the animals live in.
A conservation model that depends on regional stability has an exposure that no permit price can hedge.
Why this is a business story too
Tourism is one of Rwanda’s largest foreign-exchange earners, and the gorillas are its single most identifiable asset. Brand-building of this kind is a national export strategy carried out through an animal.
For readers who follow Latin America, the comparison is with Costa Rica, which built a similar reputation and monetised it over decades. Both cases show that a conservation brand takes twenty years to construct and one bad season to damage.
That is why Rwanda spends money on a ceremony rather than only on rangers. The ceremony is the marketing budget.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Kwita Izina?
It is Rwanda’s annual gorilla naming ceremony, adapted from a Rwandan tradition of naming newborn children before family and community. It has been held annually since 2005.
How many gorillas were named this year?
Twenty-two baby mountain gorillas born over the past year were named at Kinigi. More than 438 have been named since the ceremony became annual.
Who took part?
Namers included Patrice Evra, Mamadou Sakho, Mutaz Essa Barshim, David Lappartient, UN Tourism’s Secretary-General Shaikha Al Nuwais, Rio Tinto chairman Dominic Barton and filmmaker Alastair Fothergill.
Why does Rwanda hold the ceremony?
It supports an argument that conservation and economic development reinforce each other, with tourism revenue funding protection and community benefit. The event is also a marketing instrument for Rwandan tourism.
What are the risks to the model?
High-price, low-volume tourism is exposed to any shock that halts long-haul travel. The gorilla landscape also crosses into eastern DR Congo, where conflict has repeatedly interrupted conservation work.
Connected Coverage
We covered Kigali hosting Africa’s biggest farm investment meeting, and the three small islands that supply most of the world’s ylang-ylang. Africa’s natural assets are part of the story we follow in Africa: The New Scramble.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
Read More from The Rio Times