Biodiversity Centre

Biodiversity Centre 🌴Educate for a sustainable future
🦎Protect nature & communities
🌍Diverse team 🐢Non profit

🐍 Snake awareness 🐍The Biodiversity Centre Rwanda was pleased to deliver two training sessions this month on snake aware...
16/10/2025

🐍 Snake awareness 🐍

The Biodiversity Centre Rwanda was pleased to deliver two training sessions this month on snake awareness at and Eco-Park.

We appreciate the engagement and curiosity of all participants who attended to promote safe and respectful coexistence with wildlife. We are excited to host the following sessions soon.

If you’d like to join or organise a training or support our initiatives, you can reach us at [email protected] --> or purchase one of our own-designed Biodiversity Centre t-shirts.

Website: https://lnkd.in/de9ywQ4B



Hendrik Hinkel

🍃 Green Colonialism: Will We Ever Be Set Free? 🍃It began with a walk through European botanical gardens, where glass do...
16/10/2025

🍃 Green Colonialism: Will We Ever Be Set Free? 🍃

It began with a walk through European botanical gardens, where glass domes filled with tropical plants thrived far from their native soils. That quiet unease grew into the seed of this piece: a reflection on green colonialism and how the language of sustainability often masks older forms of domination and control.

From carbon markets to conservation corridors, it raises the question: who decides what must be preserved, and who bears the cost of that preservation? Genuine restoration, it contends, starts with how we listen, return, and give back space to those who have long understood how to coexist with the land.

Written by Laura Ariza (primary author) and Astrid Genard, as part of the Biodiversity Centre’s effort to raise awareness and reconnect conservation with equity, ethics, and belonging.

Read Full Article:http://biodiversitycentre.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/GREEN-COLONIALISM.pdf

Read more: https://biodiversitycentre.org/stories-perspectives/

11/09/2025

🌍 Alors que se tiennent aujourd’hui les Assises 2025 de la Coopération Internationale, nous publions l’analyse d’Astrid Genard, volontaire d’Iles de Paix :
« La sortie que nous n’avions pas planifiée » ✍️

🤝 La coopération n'a jamais été conçue pour durer éternellement.
⏳ Et pourtant, des décennies plus t**d, de nombreux acteurs restent profondément enracinés dans des pays dont ils avaient initialement l'intention de se retirer.
❓ Pourquoi la Belgique n'a-t-elle jamais élaboré de stratégie de sortie des pays considérés comme “fragiles” ? Pourquoi percevons-nous le retrait comme un abandon plutôt que comme une transformation ? La coopération a-t-elle encore du sens sous sa forme actuelle ?

👉 Lire l’analyse complète :
https://www.ilesdepaix.org/la-sortie-que-nous-navions-pas-planifiee/

Crédit photo : © Michael Goima AFD

🐍 The Naja and Us 🐍A snake was discovered concealed on a bus, sedated and scarred. The Biodiversity Centre was contacte...
01/09/2025

🐍 The Naja and Us 🐍

A snake was discovered concealed on a bus, sedated and scarred. The Biodiversity Centre was contacted, and once again, we rescued a life that others might have overlooked.

In a new article, Astrid Genard and Hendrik Hinkel recount the rescue of this snake, a tale of cross-border transport, weeks of healing, and the importance of respecting even the most feared creatures.

The piece also shares lines from “Le Naja”, a poem written in East Africa that demonstrates how people long ago already recognised the power and respect owed to snakes.

« Lorsque le Naja se dresse,
nul n’ose troubler son silence.
Son regard seul commande,
et les pas des hommes se figent. »

“When the Naja rises,
no one dares to break its silence.
Its gaze alone commands,
and the steps of men grow still.”

Read the full article here:http://biodiversitycentre.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/NAJA-AND-US.pdf

More articles: https://biodiversitycentre.org/stories-perspectives/

Biodiversity Centre

🐍 Meet one of our Board Members, Hendrik Hinkel, The H**p Keeper! 🐍At the Biodiversity Centre, we work as equals, a team...
20/08/2025

🐍 Meet one of our Board Members, Hendrik Hinkel, The H**p Keeper! 🐍

At the Biodiversity Centre, we work as equals, a team united by passion and purpose, guided by humility, respect, and the understanding that everyone is equal. Each of us offers different expertise and responsibilities, and together we make a dream team.

Hendrik grew up in Rwanda’s National Parks, where reptiles and amphibians shaped his childhood. He often accompanied scientists in the field, trusted for his knowledge of the terrain and its wildlife. From an early age, venomous snakes fascinated him; by the age of 12, he was already handling Rwanda’s deadliest species.

Over the years, he specialised in reptile and amphibian husbandry, working in reptile parks and wildlife reserves across Africa. His experience covers everything from snakes and amphibians to the Big Five, always grounded in a strong commitment to conservation and biodiversity.

At the Centre, Hendrik offers not only expertise but also the rare ability to visualise and plan. His dedication to reptiles reflects a commitment to ecosystems as a whole, every species, landscape, and connection.

Snakes teach us resilience, patience, silence, and are always part of the balance.

Hendrik Hinkel
Core Values:

🦋 Meet one of our Board Members, Laura Camila Ariza Salinas, The Culture Keeper! 🦋At the Biodiversity Centre, we operate...
15/08/2025

🦋 Meet one of our Board Members, Laura Camila Ariza Salinas, The Culture Keeper! 🦋

At the Biodiversity Centre, we operate on an equal footing, a group of people united by passion and purpose, guided by a leadership style grounded in humility, respect, and viewing each other as equals. We each bring different expertise and responsibilities, resulting in a dream team.

Laura is a biologist and rural development specialist with extensive experience working with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, protected areas, and environmental self-determined governance. Her work integrates ethnobotany, climate resilience, and the traditional uses of biodiversity, always grounded in the cultural and ecological contexts of each territory.

At the Centre, she ensures our strategies respect the autonomy, knowledge systems, and life plans of local communities, while remaining grounded in practical, community-led action. She is deeply passionate about exploring alternative knowledge systems, rooted in land-based wisdom and local traditions, as valid and essential complements to science.

Through attentive listening, ongoing learning, and lived experience, her work connects science and culture, fostering pathways where tradition and innovation meet to strengthen community resilience and autonomy.

“Knowledge is not owned, it is shared, lived, and passed on.”
“Culture is the soil where resilience grows.”

Laura Camila Ariza Salinas
Core Values:

🐸 Meet one of our Board Members, Mapendo MINDJE, The Frog-Man of Rwanda! 🐸 At the Biodiversity Centre, we work on an equ...
12/08/2025

🐸 Meet one of our Board Members, Mapendo MINDJE, The Frog-Man of Rwanda! 🐸

At the Biodiversity Centre, we work on an equal stand. A group of people united by passion and purpose, and guided by a new style of leadership: one built on humility, respect, and seeing each other as equals. We each bring different expertise and responsibilities, resulting in a dream team.

Mapendo is an Assistant Lecturer at the University of Rwanda, Head of Ecotourism & Greenspace Management, and a dedicated researcher on amphibians and reptiles. With dual Master’s degrees in Biodiversity Conservation & Natural Resource Management and BioGeosciences, his work bridges science and conservation action, from studying frog ecology to leading Rwanda’s Biodiversity Data Management team.

“Until you try to understand, then you will understand.”
“Working with animals is a sure mission to protect them from human greed.” Mapendo MINDJE

Core Values: Discipline • Humility • Compassion for Nature

**petology

🐍 Conservation through education for World Snake Day 🐍Snake handling is part of our day-to-day. The reality is, even p...
16/07/2025

🐍 Conservation through education for World Snake Day 🐍

Snake handling is part of our day-to-day. The reality is, even professionals get bitten. These animals should be treated with the same respect as a lion.

There are many ways to decrease the odds of a snake bite when handling them. One of which is to use tools like hook-sticks, tongues, and HexArmor gloves.

At the Biodiversity Centre, we cater our training to the public. We have taught people how to safely remove snakes from their houses using brooms. But we have also taught people how to do medical procedures on injured or sick snakes.

We do it for the love of animals, for the love of snakes.

11/07/2025

🐍 A rare and tragic event. And a reminder. 🐍
Conservation isn’t just about protecting wildlife; it’s also about protecting people.
At the Biodiversity Centre, we work on safety, risk mitigation, and awareness. Because peaceful coexistence requires knowledge, not fear.
This short video explains more.

🦎 Between Silence and Action 🌿 Rethinking Leadership in Biodiversity WorkAt the Biodiversity Centre, we believe that rea...
09/07/2025

🦎 Between Silence and Action 🌿

Rethinking Leadership in Biodiversity Work
At the Biodiversity Centre, we believe that real change begins within communities and ourselves. Leadership is not about speaking louder or acting faster. Sometimes, it’s about pausing, listening, and acknowledging what’s already there.

Our latest article, “Between Silence and Action”, examines how humility, cultural nuance, and systems thinking can transform our approach to conservation, not just in Africa, but globally.

🐢Read the full article & explore more stories and perspectives : https://biodiversitycentre.org/explore/stories-perspectives/

Address

Bugesera

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Biodiversity Centre posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category