More than 3,898 trees were planted over an area of 19.5 hectares; the most dominant beeing Gerevelia trees but there are also 215 traditional trees. The project is expected to plant more than six million trees (6,000,000 hectares) including Agroforestry, fruit trees, small forests and traditional trees to be planted on 15,209 hectares in Rulindo and Bugesera districts. The project will also help in combating air pollution where more than 3 tons of polluted carbon dioxide (CO2) will be filtered through trees and other activities including land conservation and sustainable agriculture for 20 years from January, 2020. The 20-year project will be implemented in collaboration with the Government of Rwanda, partners and the people of Rulindo and Bugesera Districts through the Rwanda Forestry Agency.
The project is being implemented by the Albertine Rift Conservation Society (ARCOS Network) in an effort to protect the environment and improve the well-being of the people in the Albert Albert Rift, in collaboration with the Government of Rwanda through the Ministry of the Environment and its affiliates including the Forestry Agency (RFA), and Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), the districts of Rulindo and Bugesera and various other partners, at the Confederation of French Investors Livelihoods Funds.
More than 30,000 households and more than 120,000 people will benefit from the project, more than 5,000 jobs will be created, and especially those related to environmental protection and 60% of the beneficiaries of the project are women and youth. More than 1,000 small farmers' groups will be set up to support sustainable development and to focus on environmental protection and biodiversity.
Some residents who spoke to IGIHE said they were pleased with the recent planting of agroforestry trees in their fields and teaching them how to cultivate better erosion-resistant crops that would help them increase agricultural and livestock productivity and satisfy their food and market needs, and ARCOS has begun to implement it.
KAMANA Jonas, a resident of Ngoma Sector, Karambo Cell, where the project was launched, said: 'It is also difficult to get seedlings due to lack of money to buy them but ARCOS has helped us to give them away for free so it made us very happy .'
Mulindwa Prosper, the Vice-Mayor in charge of Economic Development in Rulindo District, urged the owners of the cultivated trees not to harvest the trees in a chaotic manner so that their purpse would not be vain.
'Citizens will be trained, which will help them learn to prepare for short-term forestry projects. The project will focus on the Yanze, Cyohoha and Muyanza hills. This means that the project will reach 12 out of 17 sectors in Rulindo District. '
The Director of ARCOS Network, Dr. Kanyamibwa Sam, said that the project is in a bid to cope with the process of tackling climate change and that the community should contribute to that.
"The project is part of the process of tackling climate change, and in order to do that, the tree has to be planted for a long time. if the citizen was to plant it today and tomorrow he got rid of it would have all been for nothing. The Community participation is needed to achieve this. ," he said.
Speaking of when and how these trees will be harvested, he said: "This project will take 20 years, yet it does not mean that the tree cannot be harvested in that period of 20 years, the trees will be harvested when the time comes, especially since we have brought the people together into groups where we will connect them with the buyers to harvest them at the same time and plant new ones.'
Dr. Kanyamibwa said a variety of trees will be planted including trees to agroforestry, fruits trees, forests and traditional trees and most will play a major role in agricultural activities including fighting erosion control and fertilization.
Mr. Jean Pierre Mugabo, Director of the Rwanda Forestry Agency, said that some time ago they started to develop an agroforestry planting program to protect the soil.
'It's a nationwide program,' he said. He went on to say that those planting these trees are to do it as early as by the end of November since according to the forecast, the rain will end soon.
"We urge them to work in order to at least be done by 15 December because after that the rain will start to decrease, according to the National Weather forecasting."
He thanked the ARCOS Network for its continued contribution to the implementation of government programs, especially in the protection of the environment and the welfare of the people.
ARCOS Network commends the people of Rulindo and Bugesera districts for their dedication and sincerity in implementing the project and urges them to continue to take good care of the trees caused by sustainable development and conservation of biodiversity throughout their communities and throughout Rwanda. They also thanked the Government of Rwanda and other stakeholders for their commitment to work together to ensure that the project achieves its goals.
Nicole Kamanzi M.
