NORTHERN PROVINCE

RULINDO — Residents of Rulindo District are encroaching on River Base which flows through Gicumbi, Rulindo and Gakenke Districts.

There is a lot of human activity including construction of commercial and residential houses close to the banks of the river.

Dangerous substances that include detergents, pesticides, food oils and vehicle oils from vehicles washed along the river banks pose a great health threat to residents and domestic animals that drink water from this river in the three Districts.

As part of measures put in place to protect water bodies and wetlands, the government enacted an organic Law No.04/2005 of 08/04/2005, determining the modalities of protection, conservation and promotion of environment in Rwanda.

Although the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) oversees environment protection countrywide, people in the rural parts of Rwanda still need much sensitisation on the importance of conserving the environment.

According to USA experts in water pollution based in Albuquerque City, environment conservation campaigns to local residents living along Rivers, Lakes and wetlands, are very important to reduce the effect of hazardous and toxic materials from posing a health threat to human life and fish.

"Food oils and detergents from vehicle washing sites that float on water close to the river or lake are a threat to human beings’ health who consume the water and prevent fish under water from accessing oxygen,” said the Manager of water pollution prevention at Albuquerque Hydrology Section, Roland Pentila.

In addition to this, the Rwandan Organic Law on environment protection prohibits the construction of buildings for commercial and residential or carrying out agricultural, pastoral and other human activities.

The law recommends that farming and other human activities shall respect a distance of 10 metres away from the banks of streams or rivers and 50 metres away from the banks of lakes.

The Rwandan Organic Law on environment protection further prohibits the construction of houses in wetlands, without respecting the minimum distance of 20 metres away from the bank of the swamp.

Similar recommendations were echoed at a recent two-day seminar held in Gicumbi District on protection of wetlands and prevention of soil erosion.

The seminar brought together Sector Executive Secretaries, representatives of farmer’s cooperatives and Sector agronomists from the districts of Gicumbi, Rulindo and Burera.

During the seminar, Dr. Paul Odedraogo of Integrated Management of Critical Ecosystems project (IMCE) and Dr.

Gaspard Bikwenu of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) urged participants on the importance of protecting wetlands.

"Swamps are not only important for agricultural production, but are also a source of water needed for domestic and industrial use,” said Dr. Odedraogo.   

At the end of the seminar, participants resolved to protect Rugezi swamp shared by the three districts of Gicumbi, Rulindo and Burera, to boost agricultural production and provision of clean water needed for domestic use.

During the visit of ACP-EU delegation to Ngoma Sector of Rulindo District, similar recommendations of protecting Yanze water shed located in the district were echoed by the Minister of Agriculture Christophe Bazivamo.

There, over 200 hectares of terraces were constructed by local residents along surrounding hills of Yanze water shed through ‘Umuganda’ monthly community work, with the assistance of World Food Programme (WFP) - that provided terrace construction equipment.

"Yanze water shed being the source of water supplied to Kigali City and other urban areas needs to be protected from drying up, through construction of terraces and planting trees along surrounding hills to prevent soil erosion brought about by poor farming activities adjacent to the watershed,” said Bazivamo during the official launching of Yanze watershed.

It is against this scenario that measures to prevent water pollution are needed to essentially strive to conserve and protect water quality, in terms of its protection from pollution, treatment and recycling procedures to guarantee human health and marine life.

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