Rwanda Introduces Greenhouse Gas Monitoring

THE EASTAFRICAN

Rwanda’s Ministry of Natural Resources has unveiled a new monitoring system to cut greenhouse gas emissions caused by deforestation and environmental degradation.

Adrie Mukashema, deputy director-general in charge of forests at the ministry, said the Greenhouse Gas Monitoring and Reporting Scheme was a reflection of Rwanda’s commitment to protecting its forests and encouraging sustainable development.

“Even though we have little, we make sure that what we have is sustainably managed,” she said.

The country has 700,000 hectares of forest, covering 28.8 percent of the total land area.

Members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change developed a program to reduce emissions caused by deforestation and forest degradation in 2008.

Countries wanting to participate in the program are required to develop a national system for measuring, monitoring and reporting emissions, and are expected to periodically submit emissions information.

Rwanda is among 10 Central African countries that received funding — $400,000 from the Congo Basin Forest Fund — to develop a reporting system. It has been working on a reporting system since May 2013, and it was sent to the U.N. in June 2014 for approval, officials said.

Donat Nsabimana, one of six experts who created Rwanda’s early plan, presented the framework to a group of environmental experts meeting in Kigali in June 2014.