Costing Of Sustainable Forestry, Agroforestry And Biomass Energy In Rwanda

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Forestry sector plays key roles in supporting the livelihood of all Rwandans by providing most of the energy consumed by the bulk population, controlling soil erosion and protecting water catchments and supplying other goods and ecological services. Hence, the present and future extent of forest coverage in Rwanda is central to sustainable development and climate change considerations. 

Currently, about 87% of the population and 70% of the country’s land area are devoted to subsistence agriculture, while about 16% of the land area is devoted to fuel wood and timber production to meet the country’s energy needs. With the population’s high dependence on the country’s limited land resources, degradation, deforestation, soil erosion and loss of biodiversity pose potential threats to the country’s rural population. Furthermore, with an estimated 86% of Rwanda’s energy provided by biomass, forest resources are under increasing pressure from a growing population and shrinking land availability. 

The forestry sector continues to grapple with the challenges of loss of natural forest to agricultural land use to primarily satisfy the needs of a growing population, overcutting of small woodlots, low productivity of more than 50% of forest plantations which are at the end of their production life, low species diversity, and limited and poor genetic material. Consequently, sustainable forest development remains at the heart of Rwanda’s development strategies for conservation, transformation of agriculture, energy and the rural sector.

In response to these challenges inter alia, the Government of Rwanda (GoR) came up with the Green Growth Climate Resilient Strategy (GGCRS) which encompasses several sectors and 14 programmes of actions including Sustainable Forestry, Agroforestry and Biomass Energy (SFABE). This study commissioned by Food and Agriculture Organization Rwanda (FAORW), in response to the request for technical assistance by GoR as a contribution to the costing of the immediate and medium term investment needs for the implementation of the Sustainable Forestry, Agroforestry and Biomass Energy (SFABE) program of action in the Green Growth Climate Resilience Strategy (GGCRS) for the country. The time frame for costing this action plan is envisaged to cover 2016 to 2030.

Rwanda’s forest cover was estimated to be around 686,636 ha in 2014, representing 28.8% of the total country land area. This includes about 258,067 ha of natural forest cover (37.6%) and 428,569 (62.4%) of forest plantations (MINIRENA, 2014). The forest plantation is dominated by Eucalyptus where it covers 384,000 ha (55%) among other species.  

Forestry administration is currently domiciled in the Rwanda Natural Resources Authority (RNRA) in the Ministry of Natural Resources (MINIRENA). The Rwandan forestry sector is managed and governed by relevant laws and policies enacted and promulgated to enhance sustainable development of the sector. The first National Forestry policy was launched in 2004 and reviewed in 2010 for improvement and to accommodate EDPRS I (2008-2012) targets related to the forestry sector. The EDPRS II provides that the forestry sector will require interventions that include designing and implementing a reforestation strategy with diverse species, as well as inventorying and mapping national forest resources to provide the basis for a 10-year national forestry plan.