The Rwanda Environment Management Authority has embarked on a campaign to attain proper standards and norms for guiding the environmental management practice. These standards, according to Rose Mukankomeje the Director General of REMA, are slated to be in unison with the ones guiding environmental management both in the region and on the international level. This was disclosed during a meeting REMA had with the Minister of Mines and Natural resources Vincent Karega, during his recent tour to sectors under the ministry. “We are working closely with Rwanda Bureau of Standards to come up with proper standards and guidelines to judge and draw a line between indicators of environment management and degradation” said Mukankomeje. In her presentation Mukankomeje further noted that REMA is involved in many strategies of mainstreaming environmental management and reinforcement of behavioral change at all levels, and this is done through partnership with various sectors like the Ministry of Education. During his speech, the Minister applauded the invaluable impact REMA has put in place in the field of environmental protection and awareness. However he pushed for more vigorous communication packages in all the Medias possible to strengthen sensitisations and advocasy on environment. He further advised REMA to consider merging most of the projects doing similar things to avoid duplication and to get basket funding from funders, which can be easily managed and controlled by REMA as the overseer. Other aspects advised, was pushing for a policy on carbon credit and a need for proper gap analysis such that the projects come in to fill the missing gaps as opposed to implementing projects that are not interlinked with the overall program. Among other initiatives REMA is undertaking include environmental impact assessment, management of ecosystems, protection of biodiversity and the ozone layer, among others. Ends
