Scoping mission on water in rwanda - Partners voor Water

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<strong>Scoping</strong> Mission on Rwanda for Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Kigali • Further exploration of dozens of potential sites for small and large-scale multi-purpose dams is underway, e.g. the Tabu-Gakomere site. • For the long run Rwanda has also geothermal energy sources and hosts methane in Lake Kivu. Black Peat is available but produces GHG. Rwanda has access to the East Africa Power Pool, and is getting connected with Dutch support to the grid in DRC. In the future this may provide regional energy security and a low carbon energy mix to ten African countries. Although some work is being done on growing jatropha for biofuels near Akagera in eastern Rwanda, the limited land and growing population in Rwanda brings the use of land for biofuels crops into serious question. 2.1.6 Water for Nature • No proper information on the water needs for Nature was made available. The drying up of Lake Cyohoha North underscores the need to maintain ecosystems. • In Rwanda six areas qualify for RAMSAR designation (RAMSAR is the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance) namely Rugezi Marsh (8,500 ha), Volcans National Park (15,000), Akagera National Park (100,000 ha), Nyabarongo wetlands (10,000 ha), Akanyaru wetlands (30,000 ha) and Nyungwe forest (90,000 ha), but have not been designated as such. Rwanda signed the RAMSAR convention in 2006. • The lack of IWRM implemented increases the risk of damage to ecosystems. The Water Resource Management Sub Sector Strategic Plan (2011-2015) states that a breakdown in the flow of environmental, productive, social and cultural services can be expected when water abstraction is too high. • Rwanda has over 200,000 ha of Marshlands. Next to their role in ecosystems, these are also providing important buffers in preventing floods and droughts and their negative impacts on ecosystems and production outside the Marshlands. 2.1.7 Water and navigation • In the East African Transport corridors Lake Victoria is linking various ports in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. Rwanda has no direct access to Lake Victoria yet as the Akagera river is not yet navigatable. Feasibility studies are being conducted and assume transport volumes of approximately 1 million ton per year by 2020. More studies are needed to see if such a project would compete favourable to other options, including transport by rail, road and air. • For Lake Kivu a project is under development to link Rubavu, Nkora, Karongi, Mugonero, Kiramba, Nyamirundi and Rusizi with vessels carrying 120 passengers and 20 tons of cargo. The facilities will also be available for the tourist industry. 2.2 Policy and institutional framework on water in Rwanda • The policy framework on water resources comprises that of four ministries: MINIRENA, MINAGRI, MININFRA and MINALOC. • The decentralisation is framed in a policy of 2000 and strategic framework of 2007. This defines the roles of the district and sub-district authorities. These authorities form the local institutional framework, which take on management functions on natural resources. • For legislation on the use, conservation, protection and management of water Law number 62/2008 was adopted in 2008. This law provides the institutional framework for: - coordination of water resource management - functions of districts and user organizations - enabling to charge for the use of water Page 7
<strong>Scoping</strong> Mission on Rwanda for Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Kigali • The institutional framework in Rwanda is recently redefined with clear roles and responsibilities. Ministries are primarily responsible for policy and strategic plan development, resource mobilisation, coordination, quality assurance, monitoring, evaluation and capacity building. MINIRENA has WRM, environment and lands, mines and forestry; MININFRA has urban and rural water supply, and urban sanitation; MINAGRIC has agricultural development including irrigation and drainage; and MINISANTE has health issues related to water. Agencies and authorities are responsible for resource mobilisation, allocations, implementation, management, provision of standards and guidelines, regulations and enforcement. Each ministry has one or more agencies and authorities. MINIRENA • For water resources the line ministry is the Ministry of Natural Resources or MINIRENA. This ministry includes next to water resources the areas of lands, environment, mining and forestry. MINIRENA has two agencies: Rwanda Environmental Management Authority (REMA) and Rwanda Natural Resources Authority (RNRA). The Rwanda Environmental Management Authority implements policies for MINIRENA, including water resource management. • More details on MINIRENA can be found on the website http://www.minirena.gov.rw/.. The relevant laws, policies and strategies of MINIRENA are listed in http://www.minirena.gov.rw/spip.php?rubrique16. The well-structured website gives a positive impression of the way the institution is developed and its seriousness towards its goals. Below some specifics are given on each of the five natural resources ‘sectors’. • Water Resources: in June 2011 a National Policy for Water Resources Management was published and now waiting for approval by the Cabinet. The policy recognizes that water is a finite source, that it is a human right to have access to water, the economic and social value of water, that management of water resources requires an integrated approach, participatory management, catchment-based management and transboundary aspects of water. At the same time, the Water Resources Management Strategic Plan (2011-2015) was produced supporting the implementation of the recent WRM policy, both documents are available online. The documents are useful and give relevant background and contextual descriptions, and guide the planning, implementation, regulation and monitoring. These documents will form the framework for the planned WRM Master Plan. • The Water Resources Management Strategic Plan (2011-2015) indicates the following required budget categories and amounts, totalling to USD 64.5 million for which GoR has allocated USD 11.6 million: • IWRM based effective water governing framework (7.5 mln USD) • Monitoring system for water resources (5 mln USD) • Rehabilitation and restoration of ecological functions (17.5 mln USD) • Water allocation and utilization framework (8.5 mln USD) • Management of shared waters (2.5 mln USD) • Capacity development (5.5. mln USD) • Water resources: MINIRENA needs to be more articulate in the field of IWRM in order to make a fair and equitable distribution of available water resources and balance strong claims from the Energy and the Agriculture sector within the total community of users of water. The water demands by the agricultural sector will rise, as well as the domestic water demand and also more agro-based processing industries are envisaged that demand but may also pollute waters if not properly treated before discharging. For instance, Coffee Washing Stations can create serious water quality challenges. • Lands: Land and water are closely related. Rwanda has developed a National Land Use Master Plan. This includes the development of imidugudus, resulting from a policy on clustered habitat. In the urban as well as rural areas, all new constructions are being compulsorily clustered on a plot located in a specific area Page 8
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Scoping mission on water in rwanda - Partners voor Water

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