The sudden arrival of some 1.5 to 2.0 million Rwandan refugees to Zaire beginning in July 1994 created serious economic and environmental problems for the host country, in addition to aggravating an already-difficult sociopolitical and economic situation (Ministere du Plan et de Reconstruction Nationale, 1994; Ministere de l’Environnement, de la Conservation de la Nature et du Tourisme, 1994). The environmental impacts of the Rwandan refugees in North and South Kivu, Zaire, are significantly more serious and critical than the Zairean government and all the multilateral and bilateral agencies currently realize.
By Asit K. Biswas and Cecilia Tortajada, 1996. Article published in Impact Assessment, Volume 14, Issue 1, pages 21-39.