Rwanda Green Fund (FONERWA) has protected and rehabilitated 30,000 hectares of watersheds and water bodies as a way to build climate change adaptation and resilience, Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya, the Minister of Environment said.
She was speaking in a virtual session during Leaders’ Summit on Climate, adaptation and resilience held on Earth Day.
The summit was convened by US Special Envoy John Kerry where Mujawamariya shared Rwanda’s efforts in climate change adaptation and resilience.
"On Christmas day in 2019, Rwanda experienced a terrible rainstorm. The heavy rain flooded roads, destroyed bridges and demolished houses and crops. Tragically, 12 people lost their lives.
Just two weeks earlier, the government had relocated people living in wetlands especially in the City Kigali. This could have been much worse without the government's decisive action,” Mujawamariya told the meeting.
She said that the challenge that is being faced is building resilient livelihoods for citizens while also rehabilitating ecosystems.
"That is why we created Rwanda Green Fund—a financing vehicle and catalyst for green investments that responds to the country’s needs. The fund has mobilized approximately $200 million, created over 140,000 green jobs and protected and rehabilitated 30,000 hectares of watersheds and water bodies,” she said.
She added that the fund’s investments have inspired more than 40 green villages country-wide, the introduction of electric motorbikes, new ecotourism sites among others.
"Upscaling such initiatives and diversifying sources of finance, including carbon trading and private financial instruments is critical to implement our ambitious climate action plan,” she said.
Statistics show that the secured 21,798 hectares against erosion, scaled up forest and forest and agro-forestry on 42,344 hectares and connected 71,546 families to off-grid clean energy.
Green Bank
The green fund is also seeking to capitalize Green Investment facility with $60 million, Teddy Mugabo Mpinganzima, the CEO of Rwanda Green Fund (FONERWA) recently told The New Times
The Green Investment facility is being designed using the "green bank” model to address local market gaps in private finance using financial tools, she said adding it also aims to strengthen Rwanda’s ownership of climate finance by empowering the country to better access international finance (non-grant) resources.
Rwanda seeks a $11 billion (Rwf10.2 trillion) plan to combat climate change and build adaptation to its effects in the next 10 years.
Of the needed funding, around $5.7 billion will be spent on climate mitigation measures while over $5.3 billion will be invested in climate adaptation priorities.
The 10-year climate plan could reduce greenhouse gas emission by 38 per cent equivalent to 4.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2030 in Rwanda.