Jezioro Kiwu w Rwandzie - Redux

Nyamunini island on Rwanda’s Lake Kivu is a haven for as many as 40,000 straw-colored fruit bats (Eidolon helvum), on November 14, 2023, the largest colony of this kind in Rwanda. Nyamunini is the most biodiverse of the seven small islands found on Lake Kivu, likely due to its dark past; the haven was set ablaze during the 1994 genocide to kill dozens of fleeing Tutsis, and the subsequent lack of human settlements provided unencroached environmental conditions for plants and animals. The breathtaking beauty of Lake Kivu, resting between the volcanoes and steep hills of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, is exceeded only by its mercurial temperament. A clear sunny day can turn to a tropical downpour in minutes, before the sun beats down again. The lake’s still waters also hide another face: dissolved within are billions of cubic meters of flammable methane and more still of carbon dioxide, presenting both a source of power and a danger to hundreds of thousands of people living around the lake. The lake holds haunting memories from the 1994 genocide, but also offered a lifesaving escape to some. Its glassy surface is dotted with hundreds of islands, all of which have their own particularities and histories.