LEX-FAOC063418

In order for Rwanda to tackle climate change, it needs to be mainstreamed into Vision 2020, EDPRS and Sector strategies. This Strategy aims to guide the process of mainstreaming climate resilience and low carbon development into key sectors of the economy. The strategy presents a vision for Rwanda to be a developed climate-resilience, low- carbon economy by 2050. The Strategy is guided by a number of principles, already given in Vision 2020 and EDPRS. They ensure that no actions are taken that conflict with decisions already made by the people of Rwanda regarding their future prosperity. They are: (i) economic growth and poverty reduction, (ii) sustainability of the environment and natural resource, (iii) welfare and wellness of all citizens in a growing population, (iv) good regional and global citizenship and (v) gender equality and equity. The strategic objectives are: (i) to achieve energy security and a low carbon energy supply that supports the development of green industry and services, (ii) to achieve sustainable land use and water resource management that results in Food Security, appropriate urban development and preservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services, (iii) to achieve social protection, improved health and disaster risk reduction that reduces vulnerability to climate change. In order to make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable, the following activities are planned by the strategy to sustain the intensification of agriculture: (i) mainstream agroecology techniques using spatial plant stacking as in agroforestry, kitchen gardens, nutrient recycling, and water conservation to maximise sustainable food production; (ii) utilise resource recovery and reuse through organic waste composting and wastewater irrigation; (iii) use fertiliser enriched compost; and (iv) mainstream sustainable pest management techniques to control plant parasites and pathogens, (v) develop a National Water Security Plan to employ water storage and harvesting, water conservation practices, efficient irrigation, and other water efficient technologies, (vi) establish a national integrated water resource management framework that incorporates district and community based catchment management, (vi) promote afforestation/reforestation of designated areas through enhanced germplasm and technical practices in planting and post-planting processes. Regarding the reduction of rural poverty, the strategy plans to develop ecotourism, conservation and payment for ecosystem services promotion in the protected area. Activities to be developed are: (i) maximise business tourism (the largest source of tourism) through strategic conference management; (ii) increase the Community Benefit Fund from 5% of tourism revenues and ensure more equal distribution of resources to the poorest income quintiles; and (iii) establish participatory Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes, continuing work in Gishwati and Nyungwe forest. To enable inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems, Rwanda will expand crop varieties, local markets and manufactured products and exports in support of the sustainable intensification and climate resilience of small-scale farming. This multi-faceted initiative will involve diversifying agricultural production and enhancing the agriculture value chain, improving the agriculture value chain brings multiple benefits as it reduces dependency on external inputs (fertilizers/food/ fuel), reduces vulnerability to climate change and builds an agricultural market economy based on added value and import substitution. To develop effective disaster management systems, Rwanda will: (i) conduct risk assessments, vulnerability mapping and vector-borne disease surveillance; (ii) establish an integrated early-warning system, and disaster response plans, (iii) incorporate disaster and disease considerations into land use, building and infrastructure regulations, (iv) employ community-based disaster risk reduction (DRR) programmes designed around local environmental and economic conditions, to mobilise local capacity in emergency response, and to reduce locally-specific hazards, (v) enhance the use of climate data in disease prevention and mitigation programmes for human health and agricultural crop productivity, (vi) arrange additional observations to provide all climate information necessary for future monitoring, climate trend detection, management of climate variability, early warning and disaster management. In the context of governance, this strategy is the first attempt at plotting a climate resilient and low carbon development pathway for Rwanda. It is the start of a continuous process and it will be implemented through the Programmes of Action. The next step is to set up and operationalise the institutional arrangements, namely the Technical Coordinating Committee, the National Fund for Climate and Environment (FONERWA), and the Centre for Climate Knowledge for Development (CCKD). These institutions will utilise the Sector Wide Approach and work closely with development partners, civil society, academia and the private sector.