Kigali, 02 May, 2021, Today, the Ministry of environment in partnership with and United Nations Development Programme in Rwanda(UNDP) hosted a High Level Policy Dialogue on Rwanda's updated Green Growth and Climate Resilience Strategy. The event was attended by representatives from the Government of Rwanda, diplomatic corps, development partners, private sector and civil society.

This High Level Policy Dialogue aimed to discuss how Rwanda can achieve the green development agenda, the efforts required, potential funding opportunities, capacity needs, as well as the role each of partner can play, whether they  fall under the category of public, private, development partners or friends of the Environment, with the Rwanda's updated Green Growth and Climate Resilience Strategy

The revision of Rwanda’s Green Growth and Climate Resilience Strategy was conducted due to:

• Be more relevant, responsive to trends, and be an implementation-ready, costed and workable instrument;
• Reflect key Rwandan planning horizons and targets (2030, 2035 and 2050);
• Strengthen its alignment with key national and sectoral instruments and laws as well as Rwanda’s international commitments under its NDC

UNDP_Rwanda is currently providing more than USD 7.5 million to support the Government of Rwanda to implement the green growth and climate resilience strategy.

“We need a metric that considers Natural Capital  and Social Capital. This is an important piece of work – and one that Government of Rwanda has already committed to undertake. Rwanda understood the importance of nature and was on the right trajectory before COVID19” said UNDP Rwanda Resident Representative, Maxwell Gomera

In her opening remarks,  Munister Jeanne d’ Arc Mujawamariya highlighted:

 “To achieve the carbon neutral and climate resilient economy, Rwanda is envisioning by 2050, it is important to prioritize ecosystem restoration as well as natural resources conservation and protection. It is in this regard that the Green Growth and Climate Resilience Strategy was revised to align with the most recent Government policy direction”.

She added:

“Rwanda's Green Growth and Climate Resilience Strategy has informed and  provided a basis for some of the environment and climate resilient projects that have are are still transforming communities livelihoods through climate resilience and ecosystem restoration.”

During the dialogue, participants have discussed ways to achieve the green development agenda, required efforts, potential funding opportunities, capacity needs, as well as the role each of partner can play to update and implement Rwanda's updated Green Growth and Climate Resilience Strategy

Note to editors:

Rwanda’s Green Growth and Climate Resilience Strategy (GGCRS – “the Strategy”) was adopted in 2011 and presents a 2050 vision for the country of being “a developed, climate-resilient and low-carbon economy”. The Strategy is underpinned by a framework that comprises a set of guiding principles and strategic objectives, which inform the formulation of 14 Programmes of Action (PoA). The PoAs rely on several enabling pillars to support their implementation, including Institutional Arrangements; Finance; Capacity Building and Knowledge Management; Technology, Innovation and Infrastructure as well as Integrated Planning and Data Management.

After the evaluation conducted in 2018, it has determined the key achievements, shortcomings and lessons learned in implementing the Strategy, with the aim of ensuring it continues to serve as a relevant, effective and implementable guiding national document.

The evaluation concluded with some key recommendations, including a need to:

 i) enhance / update GGCRS actions and indicators across sectors;

 ii) ensure alignment with more recent national policies and international commitments; iii) adjust the timeframe to align with the SDG 2030 agenda – allowing for a more realistic and targeted implementation plan; and

 iv) improve costing information to allow for more accurate budgeting and forecasting at national and sectoral levels, to ensure the  remains adaptable to possible future scenarios, responsive to trends, and serves as an implementation-ready, costed and workable instrument.. 

These recommendations collectively demonstrate the need to strengthen certain aspects of the Strategy through a robust analysis and revision process. It is against this backdrop that the Government of Rwanda, through the Ministry of Environment and with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has commissioned a consulting team to work with the Government, its development partners, the private sector and civil society to update and enhance the GGCRS with the overarching aim of ensuring it remains adaptable to possible future scenarios, responsive to trends, and serves as an implementation-ready, costed and workable instrument.

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