Rwanda Gishwati Forest Reserve Afforestation/Reforestation Project
In 2009, ERA announced the Gishwati Forest Reserve Afforestation/Reforestation Project, a proposed community-led carbon offset project designed to address deforestation, while strengthening the capacity of vulnerable African communities to effectively adapt to the negative consequences of climate change.
Working in collaboration with Rwandan government agencies and other stakeholders, under guidance of the Rwandan National Plan priorities (Poverty Reduction and Economic Development Strategy), this carbon offset project focuses on restoring lost forest cover and will support sustainable agroforestry practices in rural Rwanda.
Deforestation in Rwanda
Since the early 1990s, Rwanda’s Gishwati Forest Reserve has suffered massive deforestation due to the resettlement of displaced populations and the resulting agricultural expansion, often involving non-sustainable land-use practices.
The loss of Afro-montane forest cover in Gishwati has led to:
- Reduced agricultural yields and loss of arable land, and;
- Dramatically increased vulnerability to extreme weather-related events, including flash flooding, which has claimed lives and caused extensive material damage.
Throughout Rwanda, roughly 7% of the original primary forests remain. This huge reduction in forest cover has had major negative effects, such as:
- Increased run-off and flooding that has led to an increase in the spread of diseases like malaria;
- Loss of an estimated 1 million tons of soil per year due to erosion, and;
- Longer periods of drought in eastern Rwanda, threatening food security.
The Gishwati Forest Reserve Project would re-establish native and naturalized forests on 2,200 hectares of highly degraded land and high-risk slopes using agroforestry systems that combine trees and crops for more sustainable land use. The regeneration of these areas will reduce devastation and soil losses due to erosion, and will increase agricultural yields.
Mitigating Climate Change in Rwanda through Sustainable Agro-forestry
The Rwanda Gishwati Forest Reserve Project will also build capacity within local communities to develop sustainable agriculture practices, enabling rural economic development and mitigating climate change by:
- Replacing bio-diverse, Afro-montane forests lost over the last 100 years;
- Reducing carbon emissions from deforestation and degradation in the remaining Afro-montane forests in the reserve;
- Sequestering roughly 1 million tonnes of carbon emissions over the life of the project;
- Increasing the amount of productive land in the Gishwati Forest Reserve (via multi cropping);
- Significantly reducing massive soil erosion on steep Nile-Congo crest slopes;
- Reducing the risk of flash floods and landslides on denuded steep slopes, and;
- Laying the foundation for a new, sustainable bio-economy based in rural Rwanda.
This carbon offset project will create local employment opportunities, enhance women’s ability to play a more meaningful role in resource management, increase African capacity to manage and monitor forest-based offset activities, and contribute to the sustainable supply of bio-fuels.
