Overall, the RUDP II Project will improve access to sustainable infrastructure and services, and strengthen urban management and resilience in low income areas in the City of Kigali and the six secondary cities of Rwanda.

RUDP II Project is expected to achieve global environmental benefits from decarbonization, improving biodiversity conservation and reducing land degradation. It willfinance the rehabilitation and restoration of priority wetlands, which will protect the city and its residents against the increasing risk of extreme rainfall and floods. It will also protect existing soil carbon stocks which are otherwise threatened by encroachment and degradation and promote the sequestration of GHGs.

Wetland restoration will safeguard carbon stocks and increase carbon sequestration, improve water quality, and support biodiversity through the creation of green spaces, recreational facilities and additional vegetation areas. Moreover, sustainable management practices in the wetland sites such as erosion control, bank protection and creation of buffer zones will reduce land degradation. It will also mitigate the expected impact of the increasing frequency of droughts.

The RUDP II Project will support the City of Kigali to advance and improve integrated urban planning for resilience, sustainable wetland management, flood risk management and greenhouse gas monitoring. The Project will also support secondary cities to increase infrastructures and service delivery as well as build and develop institutional capacity at National level.

REMA will implement the component of Evidence-based, sustainable wetland management, flood risk management and greenhouse gas monitoring. Activities under this component will focus on wetland rehabilitation by designing, implementing and monitoring nature-based solutions to reduce flood risks, enhance biodiversity and strengthen resilience in the City of Kigali. The primary focus will be on the rehabilitation of wetlands that have been impacted by historical land-uses, such as industrial use and urbanization, which have resulted in loss or  poor water quality. These wetlands include Gikondo, Rugenge-Rwintare, Kibumba and lower Nyabugogo Wetlands whose rehabilitation will create space and storage for watercourses, increase the ability to attenuate flood waves and biodiversity enhancement.