The Covid-19 pandemic has had both negative and positive impact on the environment sector according to the State of Environment and Outlook Report 2021.

The sixth report presents a comprehensive assessment of Rwanda’s environment and examines the potential impacts of Covid-19 on the environment.

The following are five areas and how they were affected by Covid-19 pandemic.

Impact on forests and biodiversity

The report says that on the one hand, the Covid-19 pandemic has enabled wildlife to thrive and extend their territories in some habitats; while on the other hand, it halted the maintenance of parks and natural areas and impeded scientific research and monitoring of wildlife and ecosystem functions.

"There is anecdotal evidence that the absence of tourists triggered a rise in forests and biodiversity population numbers or the arrival of new species in areas previously  frequented by hikers or other visitors,” reads part of the report.

Impact on tourism

The report shows that protected areas appeared to be safe from reduced human activity.

However, the report says, in other areas, mobility restrictions have prevented scientific monitoring and surveillance of touristic environments that might lead to increased threats from illegal activity, such as deforestation and grazing.

In 2020, tourism was among the worst hit sectors in Rwanda.

Tourism revenue recorded a 76 percent decline from $498 million in 2019 to $121 million in 2020 due to the pandemic restrictions.

Government currently pumps back into communities neighbouring parks 10 per cent of proceeds from tourism revenue, meaning that a reduction in tourism revenue directly affected communities which also hampers conservation efforts.

Meanwhile the government’s support for the sector through the Economic Recovery Fund (ERF) will go a long way in aiding its recovery as about 50 percent of the Rwf100 billion recovery fund has been dedicated to the tourism and hospitality sector.

Impact on waste management

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, Rwanda’s waste management faced various challenges and the current pandemic just exacerbates the situation according to the report.

"The use and production of personal protective equipment (PPE), such as gloves, masks and bottles of disinfectant is expected to have increased. In addition, containment measures aimed at slowing the spread of the virus have resulted in interruptions in waste management work and delayed the establishment of waste collection centers across the country such as e-waste,” the report highlights.

Meanwhile one of the responses is the pilot projects that initiated the collection of PPEs for safe disposal.

Local waste collection companies collect and dispose of used masks and gloves at the central collection centre in Kabuye, a Kigali suburb where they are kept before incineration, REMA said.

Impact on water and sanitation

The report indicates that during Covid-19, the water and sanitation sector were among the critical sectors, partly because the sector was important in the fight against the spread of the pandemic, and partly due to the economic consequences of the pandemic which hampered the affordability of water and sanitation services to the public.

"The rural residents were more affected than the urban residents. The rural and small-town water suppliers suffered financial and operational challenges during the pandemic, including supply chain difficulties,” it says.

Impact on air quality

On the one hand, the report explains that containment measures to stem the spread of Covid-19 resulted in improvements in air quality, especially in Kigali city where vehicular traffic was reduced.

On the other hand, it says vulnerable populations sheltering at home during the pandemic were increasingly exposed to indoor air pollution due to the increased burning of poor-quality fuels in homes.

Conclusions and recommendations

Climate smart solutions need upscaling in Rwanda, including mass public transport systems driven by clean energy from renewable sources, the report recommends.

"The smart public transport system will be favoured by the public if it is efficient and on time, while huge tariffs on the use of personal fossil fuel driven cars can deter the public from owning and using fossil fuel driven cars,” the recommendation says.

The report suggests that the incremental investment in clean forms of energy will make Rwanda a low-carbon economy by 2050 if the current efforts are sustained.

The most effective, efficient approach to protect public health from the adverse effects of outdoor air pollution, it said, is to reduce ambient concentrations through emission controls.

While forest restoration efforts will result in a significant reduction in the frequency and severity of disasters such as floods and landslides, it says, the country will also need to invest in early warning capacity so that there is little to no loss of human and animal life due to these disasters.

"There is still a lot to do in terms of managing and protecting the natural resources. Like other countries in the region, Rwanda has been, and continues to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Acceleration of wetlands restoration recommended

The report has also recommended accelerating the process of rehabilitation of Rugenge- Gikondo wetlands and others in the City of Kigali wetland network.

It is also recommended that management plans be developed for the important Rweru-Mugesera and Akagera wetlands.

A major target set by the government of 30 percent area under forest cover to be achieved by year 2020, has been already achieved.

However, the report suggests that Rwanda needs to promote alternative sources of energy for cooking and modern fuel cooking technologies to reduce the consumption of biomass energy for domestic purposes which is still estimated to be around 86 percent.

To build an effective waste management system in Rwanda, it is recommended that a national integrated and sustainable waste management strategy be developed.

This, according to researchers, will guide waste management practices, integrate waste minimization complementary to other technologies for unlocking opportunities in the waste sector.

High quality soil management could be achieved through an integrated conservation agriculture approach that provides profitable agricultural yields, while minimizing environmental damage, it adds.

Other recommendations include the efforts to conduct assessments of the quality of water bodies throughout the country which should consist of repetitive monitoring at the same sites and sampling locations to detect water quality trends.