Five Year Strategic Plan for the Environment and Natural Resources Sector (2014-2018)

This strategy covers a five year period (2013 - 2018) and it was developed to implement the second phase of the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy with the aim of achieving the revised targets of Vision 2020. The Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) Sector and District strategies will contribute to the achievement of the four thematic areas and will mainstream key cross-cutting issues which the EDPRS II identified as Environment and Climate change, Gender and Family promotion, HIV/AIDS, Capacity building, Regional integration, Social inclusion and disability and Disaster management.

The Objective of this strategy is to ensure that environment and natural resources are utilised and managed productively in support of equitable and sustained national development and poverty reduction. This will be realized in 5 specific objectives : (1) To increase and sustainably manage ecosystems and forest resources to optimize their economic as well as ecological functions; (2) To put in place and operationalise an efficient system of land administration and land management that secure land ownership, promote investment in land for socio-economic development and poverty reduction; (3) To ensure that development in Rwanda is undertaken in a manner that inflicts minimal damage to the environment, and building resilience to threats posed by climate change for the sustained support to economic, social and cultural development of Rwanda. (4) To secure and provide water of adequate quantity and quality for all social and economic needs of the present and future generations with the full participation of all stakeholders in decisions affecting its management; (5) To improve the Geology and Mines sub-sector to contribute optimally and sustainably to the national income and to the social economic welfare of the community.
Environment and Climate Change will contribute to the achievement of EDPRS II through the following innovations: ecosystem rehabilitation based on job creation and income generation for rural poverty reduction and social protection; integrating innovative approaches and knowledge on technology transfer on irrigation, renewable energy and agro-forestry; developing and implementing an incentive structure to award performance in environmental management; and operationalize FONERWA fund.

The Five Year Strategic Plan for the Environment and Natural Resources Sector establishes targets of forestry to increase forest cover, with districts measuring their success against new forest planted, targeting a minimum of 83 trees per household in rural area and 5 trees in urban areas, with a survival rate of 90%. It also targets the number of climate change adaptation and mitigation projects to be developed and implemented between 2013 and 2018.
Environment and Climate Change priorities will be implemented by Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) whereas Land, Forestry, Water resources and Mining will be executed under the mandate of the Rwanda Natural Resources Authority (RNRA).