IUCN Rwanda Country Office Brochure

IUCN in Rwanda plays a crucial role using Forest Landscape Restoration approach

Find IUCN Rwanda Country Strategy 2021-2030

The Government of Rwanda has been an IUCN member since 2014. IUCN opened a Rwanda Country Office in 2016 to support the implementation of Rwanda’s national environmental policies and strategies. It is working under a Memorandum of Understanding for the period 2019–2029 with the Ministry of Environment. The IUCN Rwanda Country Office’s main areas of implementation are:

1. Forest Landscape Restoration (including the 2014 ROAM report; the 2011-2018 Bonn Challenge Barometer of Progress; the 2019 forest cover mapping; the 2020 Erosion Control Maps; the 2018 National Tree Reproductive Materials Strategy; the 2018-2024 Forestry Research Strategy and Guidelines for Rwanda; and restoration activities).
2. Integrated Water Resources Management and Restoration (catchment planning, restoration through a community approach in Sebeya, Mukungwa, Akagera Lower, Kivu, and Akanyaru catchments).
3. Nature-based Solutions (including through the FLR and IWRM programmes).
4. Sustainable Conservation Finance for Communities and Private Sector Investors (the Climate Smart Lending Platform, the Community Environment Conservation Fund, Payment for Ecosystem Services, and the Enterprise Partnership Initiative).

In Rwanda, the IUCN Rwanda Country Office has specific expertise in Forest Landscape Restoration, Integrated Water Resources Management, biodiversity conservation (including on-farm), climate change adaptation and mitigation, natural resources governance, geo-spatial ecosystems mapping & modelling, natural resources economics and ecosystems valuation, sustainable agriculture within a densely populated landscape, and sustainable conservation finance instruments.
There are currently four national IUCN members in Rwanda (one state and three non-state members), as well as multiple international non-state members with offices in the country.

IUCN Rwanda Mission and Vision

The IUCN Rwanda Country Office subscribes to the overall IUCN vision: “A just world that values and conserves nature.”

The IUCN Rwanda Country Office specifies its mission as follows: “To assist the Government and the people of Rwanda to conserve the integrity and diversity of Rwanda’s nature, and to support and sustain healthy and resilient ecosystems that provide essential services to Rwanda’s people.”

IUCN Rwanda Strategic Objectives

In line with this vision and mission, and based on its extensive in-house experience and expertise, the IUCN Rwanda Country Office will pursue six interconnected strategic priorities during the period 2021–2030:

1. Restoration of landscapes and ecosystems for nature and people
2. Management of water resources for biodiversity and sustainable development
3. Climate change adaptation and mitigation
4. Sustainable financing mechanisms
5. Sustainable agriculture
6. Nature-based solutions

IUCN Rwanda Portfolio Initiatives

• Forests, Landscapes, and Livelihoods
• Investment Packages Rwanda – IPR
• Implementation of the Bonn Challenge through support to Forest Landscape Restoration in Burundi, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Cameroon
• Climate Smart Lending Platform (CSLP)
• Landscape and Integrated Water Resources Management and Restoration in Sebeya and other catchments, Rwanda
• Rwanda 6th National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity
• Reducing vulnerability to climate change through enhanced community-based biodiversity conservation in the Eastern Province of Rwanda
• Large-scale Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) in Africa (AREECA)
• Improving the resilience of farmers’ livelihoods to climate change through innovative, research-proven climate-smart agroforestry and efficient use of tree resources in the Eastern Province and peri-urban areas of Kigali city
• Transforming the Eastern Province of Rwanda Through Adaptation
• Tech 4 Nature
• Etc.