National Forestry Policy.

In order to contribute to a balanced development through economic growth and promotion of ecological value, the government of Rwanda has elaborated this national forestry policy which aims to increase the forest cover, high value addition to forest products and rational utilization of forests.
The overall goal of this policy is to make the forestry sector one of the bedrocks of economy and national ecological balance for sustainable benefits to all segments of the society.
The specific objectives of this forestry policy are to: (i) encourage the participation of private sector to invest in the forest sector for poverty reduction, employment creation and improvement of livelihood through sustainable use, conservation and management of forests and trees, (ii) contribute to sustainable land use through soil, water and biodiversity conservation, and tree planting through the sustainable management of forests and trees, (iii) strengthen the participation of communities and other stakeholders in forest management to conserve water catchment areas, forest biodiversity and ensure sustainability of the forest sector; (iv) promote farm forestry to produce timber, wood fuel and to supply wood and non-wood forest products, (v) promote forest extension to enable farmers and other forest stakeholders to benefit from forest management approaches and technologies, and (vi) promote forest research, training and education to ensure a vibrant forest sector.
In order to make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable, the NFP plans to enable the sector to meet the forestry needs of the current generation without compromising similar rights of future generations. To ensure forest permanence of forests in Rwanda strategic options will emphasise on the following: (i) re-surveying all classified forests with a view of rationalising boundaries, (ii) undertaking afforestation and reforestation initiatives to expand the country's forest cover; (iii) supporting the local authorities to manage forests as provided for under the law, (iv) developing management plans for all classified forests, (v) undertaking scientific research for promotion of innovation, maintenance of sustainability and competitiveness and ensuring progressive improvement in forestry policy and practice, (vi) monitoring and assessing forest health and factors affecting it as a basis for strategic responses to any potential threats to sustainability, (vii) improve management of the National Forestry Fund; (viii) mainstreaming farm forestry in agricultural policies and strategies, (ix) undertaking skills training and apprenticeship for wood processors to reduce waste and improve quality and productivity.
To enable inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems, the NFP envisages the promotion of profitable and productive forest plantation business through: (i) establishing legal mechanisms to enable the private sector to invest and manage public forests, (ii) promoting innovative financing mechanism through the National Fund for Forestry, (iii) to promote investment in non-timber forest products (NTFP) industry, (iv) to set up incentive measures to the benefit of potential private operators involved in wood transformation, (v) footprints and acquire sellable credits and financial opportunities of carbon market (vi) regulating use and trade of all forest products and collecting and analysing national forest products related (vii) promoting the creation of mandatory boulevards in all trading centers, towns, municipalities and cities, (viii) awarding licenses to on a competitive basis in order to foster transparency and freedom of market forces.
To increase the resilience of livelihood to disasters, in the context of Rwanda, conservation of forest biodiversity may be at stake, however following options aiming at enhancing alternatives economic activities around natural forests and better managements will ensure rational sustainable utilization: (i) promoting and supporting innovative financing mechanisms, such as cess, trusts, ecotaxes, service licenses and payments for environmental services, in order to ensure sustainable sources of operational funds (ii) management of existing protected forests and other natural forests, (iii) establishing buffer-zone plantations protected forests and other natural forests, (iv) creating partnerships and informed participation of stakeholders with sanctioned authority, (v) implementing integrated conservation and development programmes (ICDPs) among local communities neighbouring, (vi) promoting collaboration between relevant sectoral institutions, (vii) promoting ex-situ and in-situ conservation of genetic resources.
In the context of governance, for effective and coordinated implementation of this policy, the institutional framework will have to change, based on (i) current roles of the central and local governments, (ii) need to engage the private sector more intensely and (iii) requirement to equip new institutions with adequate flexibility in decision making and use of financial resources while remaining adequately accountable to the public.