Rwanda has received an international award from the United Nation Environment Programme (UNEP) for its outstanding contribution to the Protection of the Ozone Layer that protects earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun.The award was received by Collette Ruhamya, the Deputy Director of Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), who represented the country at the 14th African Ministerial Conference on the Environment in Arusha Tanzania, on Friday.To protect the earth against the sun’s radiation, The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was signed in 1987, whereby every signatory agreed to phase out the production of numerous substances believed to be responsible for ozone depletion.Rwanda adopted this Protocol in 2003 and soon after, a ministerial order was passed regulating the importation and exportation of ozone depleting substances.Since then, a number of programmes have been implemented and in 2009, Rwanda remarkably registered no importation of products that emit dangerous gases into the atmosphere.According to the Director General of the REMA, Rose Mukankomeje, the country invested in research that enabled it to begin projects with a target to freeze importation of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in line with the Protocol’s requirements of having no use of CFCs by developing countries."I congratulate those who have made it possible for Rwanda to meet her targets that were primarily managed by REMA in partnership with RRA and the Rwanda Bureau of Standards who ensured that the borders are not tolerant to products with CFCs,” Mukankomeje said in a statement.The 14th African Ministerial Conference on the Environment in Arusha last week which was attended by representatives from over 40 African nations, adopted a set of guidelines to catalyze sustainable development with respect to environment protection.