National Environment and Climate Change Policy.

This National Environment and Climate Change Policy is a cross-sectoral policy document. The policy goal is for “Rwanda to have a clean and healthy environment resilient to climate variability and change that supports a high quality of life for its society.” The seven objectives of the policy are (1) Greening economic transformation (2) Enhancing functional natural ecosystems and managing biosafety, (3) Strengthening meteorological and early warning services (4) Promoting climate change adaptation, mitigation and response (5) Improving environmental well-being for Rwandans (6) Strengthening environment and climate change governance (7) Promoting green foreign and domestic direct investment and other capital inflows. To implement these policies, 22 policy statements and 127 policy actions have been identified.
The Policy promotes to make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable. The government acknowledges that environmental degradation and climate change poses a major challenge to economic growth and sustainable development. To ensure environmental sustainability, there is a need to harmonise economic growth with the sustainable use of natural capital and to enhance functional natural ecosystems and manage biosafety. This will be achieved through the three policy statements and related actions. Policy statement 1: Conserve, preserve, and restore ecosystems and enhance their ecological Functioning. Strategic directions are proposed, including : Conserve, preserve, and restore ecosystems and enhance their ecological functioning; Promote sustainable management of wetlands; Ensuring biosafety and precautious adoption and use of biotechnology; etc. Actions proposed include: 1. Institutionalise, pilot and upscale Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES). 2. Ensure teaching of ecological agriculture at all educational levels and in relevant research institutes. 3. Strictly regulate transboundary movement of genetically modified organisms and products and encourage the development of improved crop varieties and animal breeds under ethical research environment. 4. Promote public awareness on biosafety through initiatives involving the community, policy makers, legislators, administrators and the private sector. 5. Promote sustainable farming practices that suit the holistic nature of local agricultural practices, are not disruptive and are inclusive of economic, social, cultural and gender considerations; etc.
The Policy promotes to contribute to the reduction of rural poverty. The policy seeks to provide strategic direction on environment and climate change in Rwanda, bearing in mind its linkages with the country’s socio-economic development. The strategic directions include: improve the health and quality of life for every citizen and promote sustainable socio-economic development, prevent and promote integrated pollution control and waste management, and strengthen capacity in the management of nuclear and radioactive substances. In Rwanda, radioactive materials and radiation sources are found in sectors such as agriculture, mining and milling. Policy actions include: 1. Develop and maintain an inventory of sources, types and quantities of radioactive materials; periodically monitoring status and trends and enhancing protection measures. 2. Strengthen capacities for handling and management of radioactive waste and ionising agents.
The Policy seeks to increase the resilience of livelihoods to disasters. Policy objective 3 is: Strengthening meteorological and early warning services. Strategic directions include : Develop and maintain environment, climate services and climate change information systems and promote their use by all sectors of Rwandan society; Promote generation and access to accurate and adequate meteorological weather and climate information for better planning in all sectors of the economy. Policy objective 4 is : Promote climate change adaptation, mitigation and response. Strategic direction include : Strengthen adaptation and mitigation mechanism in planning and implementation.
The Policy seeks to increase the resilience of livelihoods to disasters. Policy objective 3 is: Strengthening meteorological and early warning services. Strategic directions include: Develop and maintain environment, climate services and climate change information systems and promote their use by all sectors of Rwandan society; Promote generation and access to accurate and adequate meteorological weather and climate information for better planning in all sectors of the economy. Policy objective 4 is: Promote climate change adaptation, mitigation and response. Strategic direction is proposed: to strengthen adaptation and mitigation mechanism in planning and implementation. Actions are proposed, including: 1. Mainstream green, ecological and climate resilient practices and interventions in all development sectors and districts, including their plans, budgets, functions and actions; 2. Promote resource recovery and reuse in all sectors, including agriculture, water and sanitation and industrial sectors; 3. Integrate weather and climate information into infrastructure planning and development; 4. Promote and encourage water storage at different levels (institutional, households, etc.) and improve stormwater management, such as capturing and using stormwater for localised irrigation to support agriculture and green space vegetation; 5. Promote ecosystem-based approaches to climate change adaptation in local development agendas; 6. Promote afforestation and reforestation of critically- degraded and residential areas; 7. Enforce air pollution emission standards and regulation; 8. Promote the use of alternative forms to biomass fuel (e.g. gas and electricity) in urban and rural areas; 9. Promote renewable energy to achieve universal access to electricity; etc.