Green Mayaga Forest Landscape Restoration Project to create 150,000 jobs for Locals
The Green Mayaga Forest Landscape Restoration in the Mayaga region (FLR Mayaga) project is a ground-breaking six-year project initiative that will afforest the degraded ecosystem and restore the natural forests of four districts of Mayaga in Rwanda’s southern Province by promoting biodiversity, fostering ecosystem services, increasing agriculture productivity and reducing the vulnerability of people and ecosystems to the adverse effects of climate change.
The project will improve the livelihoods of local communities, increase agricultural productivity and food security, create green jobs as well as promote gender equality and expand forest management knowledge.
Based on the statistics, more than 1 million and three hundred thousand among them 360,000 people will directly benefit from the project, the majority of whom are women and young people.
Wibabare Divine is a young girl who is currently working in the Nursery Tree in Kinazi sector of Ruhango District.
She says that as a Student even though it is still in the early days of the project but she has already benefited from the nursery preparation process.
“As a Student, the preparatory stage of project has been an answer for me. Now I’m not afraid to go back to school because I am able to buy school materials, thanks to the job I got here at nursery” She says
Wibabara added that as a member of the young generation, she also wants to see the Mayaga region green with fresh air as opposed to the high temperatures in the area.
Apart from Wibabara and many others who have started to benefit from the site preparatory activities, the project will create approximately 150,000 jobs during the six years of implementation and provide 7,500 households with livestock to improve food security and increase incomes.
In addition, 60,000 households will be provided with improved and energy efficient cook stoves to reduce wood consumption while at the same time reduce greenhouse gases emissions and halt indoor airborne diseases.
Officials revealed that overall, the FLRGreen Mayaga project will advance the restoration of the degraded forests in the area, the landscape of which covers more than 550 hectares, or 0.14% of Rwanda’s total national natural forests, 10% of the planted forest as well as many patches of remnant forest.
The Mayaga region which is about to be restored, is often characterised by a variety of challenges including soil erosion, deforestation and high temperature which have a negative impact on yields while the region was formerly a food basket for the Rwandan market and ‘especially in the city of Kigali.
Theophile Dukuzeyezu, Project site coordinator in Ruhango District, says that they have chosen trees compatible with local soil so there is no doubt that these trees will not produce the expected results.
“That’s why we as technicians are here. We are well aware of the types of trees that are needed, and we are aware of the impacts so that we are generally confident that if these trees are properly monitored, they will inevitably be productive for both fruit trees, timber and erosion control.” She says.
The Green Mayaga Forest Landscape Restoration project is supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and is being implemented by the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) in partnership with the Rwanda Forestry Authority (RFA) and the districts of Kamonyi, Ruhango, Nyanza and Gisagara.
The Mayaga region hosts the 354-hectare natural forest of Kibirizi-Muyira as well as the Busoga forest reserves.
Regarding climate adaptation and resilience, the project will strengthen the resilience of communities and biodiversity and contribute to climate change stabilization particularly in the District of Kamonyi, Ruhango, Nyanza and Gisagara.
The Green Mayaga project will also increase the erosion control and protection of marshlands and buffer zones and this will also increase agriculture productivity.
In total, 263,000 hectares of agricultural land will be restored and rehabilitated. Small and large watersheds will also be rehabilitated and restored to provide water for human consumption as well as livestock and agriculture activities.
Ange de la Victoire DUSABEMUNGU