Nyavyamo Marsh

Nyavyamo Marsh (marécage de la Nyavyamo; -2.54333°N, 30.03722°W) is a marsh in the west of Kirundo Province, Burundi. Although parts are protected, it is mainly used for rice production.

Location
The 538 ha Nyavyamo Marsh spans the communes of Kirundo and Ntega. It occupies one of the secondary valleys of the Akanyaru River. Lake Rwihinda, Lake Nagitamo and Lake Narungazi are connected to the Nyavyamo marsh. The area around the marsh is almost covered in fields. There are about 356 people per square kilometer around Nyavyamo, which is highly populated.

Climate
The Köppen climate classification of the Nyavyamo Marsh is Aw: Tropical savanna, wet. The average temperature is 20 C. The hottest month is September, at 22 C, and the coldest is April, at 18 C. The average rainfall is 1,170 mm per year. The wettest month is March, with 178 mm of rain, and the driest is July, with 1 mm.

Protection
The Rwihinda Lake Natural Reserve protects Lake Rwihinda, upstream from the Akanyaru wetlands. The lake covers 425 ha, but the protected area is 8000 ha to include the Nyavyamo swamps.

Draining the Nyavyamo swamp downstream from Lake Rwihinda would be fatal, opening an exit route for all the water, like emptying a dam pond. Lake Gacamirindi dried up in 2004, a period of normal precipitation. Lake Narungazi and Lake Nagitamo now supply water to Lake Gacamirindi through an canal connecting the lakes through the Rugege Marsh. There is a risk that this canal will lower the water level of the Nyavyamo Marsh and Lake Rwihinda, particularly during periods of drought, when water no longer flows from the Akanyaru River to Lake Rwihinda.

Development
3,000 tonnes of sorghum were produced in the Commune of Ntega in 2003-2004. The Nyavyamo marsh was used to cultivate sorghum upstream of Lake Narungazi. In August 2017 Melchior Nankwahomba, governor of Kirundo Province, launched the transplanting of rice seedlings in the Nyavyamo Marsh. The rice harvest was estimated to be between 8 and 10 tons per hectare, or between 4,304 and 5,380 tonnes in total. In December 2020 the Ministry of the Environment, Agriculture and Livestock of Burundi posted a request for consulting services on control and monitoring of hydro-agricultural works in the Nyavyamo and Kabuyenge marshes. In July 2023 Stecol Corporation announced that the governor of Kirundo, Albert Hatungimana, had awarded the company a certificate recognizing its contribution to agricultural productivity by building marshland hydro-agricultural projects in the Nyavyamo and Kabuyenge marshes, starting in August 2014. The work included canals, dams, pumping stations and other faciities.