Environmental Issues

Let's think green for a moment... or brown, since that is that color that Burundi is fast becoming, unfortunately. Livestock overgrazing and expansion of agriculture into marginal lands has caused serious soil erosion. Now, for the greenies (like me) who have no idea what soil erosion is, I'll tell you: soil erosion is actually a natural process in which water, wind, or tillage remove top soil (sand, dirt, rocks, etc.) and deposit it elsewhere. The loss of this nutrient-rich and water-holding soil layer reduces the overall soil quality. This isn't necessarily a problem if the wind and water are removing soil at roughly the same rate that new soil is created. Unfortunately, this isn't happening in Burundi.

Another environmental problem in Burundi is deforestation (or, the uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel). Soil erosion has caused a scarcity of decent farmland, contributing to an increased demand for viable agricultural land. Burundi is an extremely small and densely populated country, however, so there is very little land to work with as it is. So the individual subsistence farmers and their families, as well as urban industries, decided that the trees just had to go...

But it gets worse! Deforestation has destroyed a number of wildlife habitats, threatening the indigenous populations of most species in Burundi. For example, gorillas and elephants are now extinct in Burundi due to loss of habitat (I mean, have you ever heard of an ape that didn't live in a tree? Didn't think so.).

However, not all news from this tiny country in East Africa is doom and gloom. Burundi is actually filthy-stinkin' rich in regards to natural resources. Petroleum, nickel, copper, and gold - among other resources - are abundant here. But (and there's always a "but" when we're talking about Burundi), the tribal violence and civil unrest in my country have sucked the state coffers dry, leaving very little to invest in harvesting these resources, and international companies are hesitant to put their dollars in Burundi when there is so much government embezzlement and civil unrest. It would be an unwise investment. But, gosh, can you imagine how much our economy would improve if we could convince the world to invest in our resources? We're sitting on a wealth of untapped opportunity!

So, what's to be done? Well, we can counter soil erosion and deforestation with a more concentrated effort at land conservation. Crop rotation, careful monitoring of livestock grazing (so, maybe rotating cattle from one grazing area to another), careful management of irrigation, and only partially harvesting forests (for example, alternating trees or creating a reserve) could go a long ways to rehabilitating the environment here. We could even reintroduce gorillas and elephants to the country when their habitats are more secure. As for our abundant natural resources, a more stable political and civil situation would make Burundi more attractive to investors for a number of different projects, not just concerning petroleum and gold.

It really all comes back to the tribal warfare, doesn't it? I think simply loving our neighbors would solve a lot of the problems in my country.

Information taken from The Encyclopedia of Earth, http://www.eoearth.org/article/Burundi

Faces of Burundi

A quick look at my country and some of what it has to offer...

Armed Youth

Bujumbura. This is the largest city in my country.

House-building in rural Burundi. It's a family affair.

Ritual drummers.

Burundian mother and children.

Muddy water. Clean water is much harder to get in Burundi than just walking to a faucet. Most Burundians must draw from wells and carry the water to their homes, oftentimes more than once a day.

Pierre Nkurunziza, the current president of Burundi after decades of tribal warfare and violence.

Sunset at Ruvubu Reserve, the largest national park in Burundi.

Tea fields. Tea is on of Burundi's main exports.

Burundian women.

We've Been Compromised!

When you think of government corruption, you probably imagine politicians who smudge the truth, media outlets that pick and choose what stories to tell, and sex scandals in Washington. Obviously, these aren't constructive elements in any government, but we ought to consider ourselves lucky that this is all the corruption we have to deal with. In Burundi, things are much worse.

A Transparency International (TI) survey ranked Burundi as the most corrupt country in East Africa for the second year in a row because of the government's susceptibility to bribery (37.9% prevalence) and graft (unscrupulous use of authority entirely for personal gain). Residents of Burundi say that bribes - kitu kidogo, or "something small"  in Kiswahili -  are demanded of them to use most services. None of these incidents are ever reported.

Most of this corruption stems from two problems: the ethnic conflict between the Hutu and the Tutsi and the country's general economic uncertainty.

Ethnic Conflict

The Hutu and the Tutsi are two of the three main ethnic groups in Central and East Africa (the third are the Twa). Although there were understandable conflicts throughout their long history, the two parties were generally not hostile to one another until the arrival of German and Belgian colonialists exacerbated existing tensions. Belgian census records documented that the Tutsi tended to be more economically and politically dominant than the Hutu, who were a poorer and more agrarian people. This led Belgium to extend special privileges and responsibilities to the Tutsi, thereby widening the already formidable gap between the Tutsi and the more populous Hutu parties.

When Burundi declared independence from Belgium in 1962, an attempt was made to return to the old monarchical system of government, but a coup staged by the Tutsi elite in 1966 ensured 25 years of military regimes in which great inequality was exercised between the two parties. These militant governments were put to an end with the democratic elections in 1993. At last Burundi looked to be headed in a positive direction. But these elections proved to be the spark that ignited the flame of ethnic warfare. 


On October 21, 1993, a group of Tutsi extremists assassinated the newly elected Hutu president, Melchoir Ndadaye. Mayhem followed. Violence broke out between the two parties in a massive civil war that lasted until 2005, resulting in the deaths of 300,000 Burundians. Although technically a ceasefire was called and attempts have been made at reconciliation and growth, tensions are still extremely high, especially in politics.

Economic Uncertainty


Burundi's economy sits in a precarious situation, with businesses hesitant to trade with and invest in Burundi due to the high possibility of violence and the prevalence of embezzlement. But with the economy lagging and a serious lack of interested trade and business, politicians are extremely susceptible to bribes and pay-offs.

All in all, Burundi's level of government corruption is through the roof despite efforts to smother it. I don't even know where to begin to try solving this... Gosh, why can't everyone just be celestial?