Kirehe District to Plant Over 5.3 Million Trees to Strengthen Climate Resilience

KIREHE, Rwanda — Kirehe District has announced plans to plant more than 5.3 million trees over the next two years as part of efforts to address climate change, protect the environment, and increase forest cover.

The initiative is in line with Rwanda’s national commitment to environmental restoration, with the country targeting nearly 60 million trees in the 2025/2026 fiscal year and more than 300 million trees by 2029 under the Second National Strategy for Transformation (NST2).

According to Nzirabatinya Modeste, Vice Mayor of Kirehe District in charge of Economic Development, the program is driven by the district’s increasing vulnerability to climate change, particularly low rainfall.

“Our district frequently faces the effects of climate change, especially prolonged dry periods,” he said. “Recently, we provided food support to residents in six sectors due to insufficient rainfall. We believe that planting trees will help restore environmental balance and improve rainfall patterns.”

He noted that the district currently has about 18 percent forest cover, which is significantly below the national target of 33 percent.

“We still have a gap of about 15 percent to reach the required forest coverage. This means we have a lot of work ahead in expanding tree planting efforts,” he added.

The district has already engaged partners to support the initiative, encouraging them to begin preparations, including seedling production, land readiness, and overall planning. Tree planting activities are expected to begin in November 2026 in line with the country’s planting calendar.

Local authorities are also calling on residents to actively participate, emphasizing that community involvement will be key to achieving the targets.

“We encourage families to go beyond planting a few trees and instead engage in large-scale forest development,” Nzirabatinya said. “In some cases, trees will be planted on private land, but they will remain the property of the residents.”

In the current fiscal year, the district plans to plant 22,500 fruit trees, establish agroforestry systems on 1,600 hectares of consolidated land, plant mixed trees on more than 1.5 million non-consolidated plots, and rehabilitate 150 hectares of private forests.

The initiative reflects a growing effort to strengthen environmental sustainability while improving agricultural productivity and resilience to climate shocks in Kirehe District.

With Muhazi Yacu