KIGALI - The government in partnership with the Smith School of Enterprise and Environment at the University of Oxford, UK, have launched a project to boost the country’s national strategy on climate change and low carbon development.

The nine-month project was yesterday presented to key government stakeholders from both public and the private partners to provide an opportunity to exchange expert views on the subject.

Speaking at the meeting, the Minister of Environment and Land, Stanislas Kamanzi, said that the initiative was out of government commitment to mitigate the effects of climate change.

"The project seeks to consolidate existing climate change initiatives and opportunities that are currently being undertaken by our country,” he said.

Kamanzi stressed that the strategy on climate change can only be efficient if it is based on a sound knowledge of climate trends.

"The project will explore the feasibility of a climate change observatory centre which would provide accurate data at regional scale,” he noted.

He hailed the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) working under DFID, for their financial support and the Smith School of Enterprise and Environment for spearheading the project.

The government is committed to mitigating effects of climate change in partnership with the rest of the world, he said.

Professor Sir David King, the Director of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, said although Rwanda was currently a low carbon economy, there should be proper control mechanisms.

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