Rwanda: Awareness Campaign targets Climate Change adaptation, lake-shores and Watershed Management
Global changes in climate are affecting Rwanda in many complex ways. These include climate related hazards such as floods, landslides and droughts as well as windstorms and severe rainstorms that have struck Rwanda in recent years with devastating effects on the population. These hazards have affected all districts and individual households across the nation – affecting the livelihoods and food security of rural and urban populations as well as the agricultural, energy, health, water, natural resource and institutional systems on which the population depends
Rwanda’s vulnerability assessment report (2018) indicates that for the for the water sector, Rwanda faces a critical situation of water stress, which includes a low volume of artificially stored water, a high precipitation run-off rate, rough estimates only of ground water recharge rates, high demands for water in a context of low per capita water availability, and increasing need for substantial amounts of water for irrigation, industry, growing cities among other requirements.
Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) mission is to promote and ensure the protection of the environment and sustainable management of natural resources through decentralized structures of governance and seek national position to emerging global issues with a view to enhancing the well-being of the Rwandan people. The Law N°48/2018 of 13/08/2018 on Environment informs prohibited acts in wetlands and protected areas and conditions to respect while implementing any specific activity in or near lakes, rivers, water streams, and wetlands. Lakes shores are part of protected natural ecosystems.
Article 42 of the Law specifies acts prohibited in wetlands, including building in water sources, streams, rivers, and lakes and the buffer zone in a distance of ten meters (10 m) away from streams and rivers and fifty meters (50 m) away from lake banks. The Ministerial Order N° 007/16.01 of 15/07/2010 determines the length of land on shores of lakes and rivers transferred to public property. Under this regulation, 50 meters on the lakeshores are public property prohibited for any other activities than their protection, unless specially authorized. Furthermore, Article 49 of the Environment Law enlightens the penalties and fines included in the violation of required distances.
It is in this context that REMA is organizing an awareness campaign in order to promote climate adaptation action at decentralized levels for better management of the following lakes and their watershed: Mugesera, Sake, Nasho, Mpanga, Muhazi and Birira lakeshores in Eastern Province, Kivu in Western Province and Burera and Ruhondo in Norhern Province to identify the current situation of lakeshores and appropriately act on identified illegal activities. The awareness campaign will also be a good opportunity to assess the level of enforcement of the law on lakeshores and buffer zone protection. A media campaign will also be conducted in this regard.
The awareness campaign will be jointly conducted by REMA, Local Government represented by concerned disricts, Rwanda National Police (RNP)/Marine.
