Burundi has 14 protected areas divided into 4 IUCN categories, namely 3 National Parks, 6 Nature Reserves, 2 Natural Monuments and 3 Protected Landscapes. Overall, these Protected Areas have an area of approximately 166668.5 ha, or 5.9% of the national territory. Natural vegetation in Protected Areas includes 55% of that available throughout the country. Regarding aquatic ecosystems, out of a total of 263400 ha, only 10% are in Protected Areas.

Burundi's PA network is generally representative of the diversity of the country's ecosystems (savannas, forests, highlands, wetlands, etc.). Burundi is one of the few countries in Africa that established National Parks after the colonial era. It was from Decree-Law No. 1/6 of 3 March 1980, creating National Parks and Natural Reserves, that the legislation relating to Protected Areas was put in place. The APs are under the responsibility of the Burundian Office for Environmental Protection (OBPE). Since February 2016, the latter has been supported by the BIOPAMA program in developing the capacities of protected area managers and collecting data with the IMET (Integrated Management Effectiveness Tool) tool to improve the efficiency of protected area management. This program covered fourteen protected areas in Burundi between February and October 2016.