Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) has unveiled a new $175 million (approx. Rwf173bn) project to ‘green’ the City of Kigali and the six secondary cities.
The secondary cities are Nyagatare, Rubavu, Rusizi, Rubavu, Musanze and Huye.
Speaking during the wetland day celebration on February 2, Theogene Ngaboyamahina, the Environmental Mainstreaming Officer at REMA said that the project mainly includes rehabilitating urban wetlands and wetlands management, controlling floods, water management, upgrading unplanned settlements, building drainages among others.
Dubbed "Rwanda Urban Development Project (RUDPII)”, the five-year project runs from December 2020 to December 2025.
The project was financed by International Development Association (IDA), Global Environment Facility (GEF), Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience (PPCR) and government of Rwanda.
In secondary cities, the green investment will build roads, drainages, pedestrian ways and street lighting as well as upgrading unplanned settlements.
In Kigali city, the project will rehabilitate wetlands that have been impacted by historical land-uses mainly industries and urbanization and monitor systems for wetland health and water levels, Ngabo said.
The wetlands to be rehabilitated include Gikondo, Rugenge, Kibumba, Rwintare, Nyabugogo and Rugunga.
The rehabilitation activities, he said, include clearing debris of removed properties, construction of water retention ponds, streams rehabilitation and flood attenuation structures, flood bypass water channels and footpaths to access wetlands.
Works also include construction of recreational facilities, planting native trees, and wetland species for water retention and purification and promoting nature-based solutions to reduce land degradation and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.
Why rehabilitating wetlands?
Environmentalists say that wetlands capture, store, regulate, filter and release freshwater, curb floods and erosion control at the right time to the right place to sustain human life and biodiversity.
There are about 1,000 wetlands across the country which make approximately 10.6 per-cent of the Rwandan surface area.
However, survey dubbed "Wetlands Biodiversity and Ecological Integrity Assessment” conducted by Albertine Rift Conservation Society (ARCOS Network) indicates that over 40% of those Rwanda’s wetlands lost their quality due to encroachment.
Most of the wetlands are in Kigali city but the area of wetlands in Kigali city has also decreased from 100 Square Kilometers to 77 square kilometres.
The minister for environment, Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya reminded all who still have construction and other illegal activities in wetlands to relocate them to ensure they function as a natural mechanism in climate change mitigation and adaptation.
"Wetlands are still facing pressure, especially uncontrolled use fertilisers and pesticides in agriculture, soil erosion, peat extraction, illegal mining, illegal infrastructure and pollutants from industrial wastewater discharge,” she said.
According to Jean-Paul Munyandamutsa, Director General for Good Governance in the City of Kigali, 92 percent of illegal activities were removed from wetlands last year.
"The activities were removed from 33 wetlands with 260 hectares. We still have challenges of remaining activities like petrol stations, some big schools and residential houses that are still waiting for relocation and resettlement. We want to remove all debris and remaining activities from wetlands by this year.” he said.
He said there is need for budget for wetland cleaning adding that there is still lack of wetland rehabilitation plan and guidelines.
Floods and unplanned settlements
The green urbanization project, Ngaboyamahina noted, will also provide technical assistance for water management master plan and ensure floods management and upgrading of four unplanned settlements in Kigali.
The unplanned settlements include Mpazi, Gatenga, Nyagatovu, and Nyabisindu in the sectors of Gitega, Kimisagara, Rwezamenyo one, Kimironko and Remera of which some settlements are close to Gikondo and Nyabugogo wetlands.
"We will also encourage ecotourism investments among the private sector and accelerate progress on implementing the Kigali master plan,” he said