Intensive Course on Sustainable Management of Wetlands in Rwanda

Nemus concluded last month the intensive training course on Sustainable Management of Wetland Systems in Rwanda. The course was held between 28 and 31 of August and was funded by the World Bank.

About 20 technicians from the Central Government and from District Governments participated, including the presence of several technicians from the Rwanda Environmental Management Authority (REMA), the Rwanda Water and Forestry Authority (RWFA), the Ministry of Natural Resources (MINIREMA) and the City Council of Kigali.

From Nemus, Pedro Bettencourt (Coordinator, Geologist), Cesar Jesus (Geologist), Gisela Sousa and Samuel Nshutiyayesu (Biologists), Elisabete Teixeira and Luís Cabral (Landscape Architects) and Camille Nyamihana (Geographer) participated as trainers.

The training course included a set of theoretical-practical modules which approached the study of the physical setting, the planning and governance of wetland areas, the ecology and wetland recovery, and the planning, detailed design and engineering. A field visit to Kigali’s wetlands was also carried out, allowing for a better understanding of the recovery proposals for the affected areas.

Subsequently, the course was complemented with a workshop, which took place in the north of Rwanda, for the presentation and discussion of the Kigali Wetlands Management Plan. The workshop was developed together with REMA (Rwanda Environment Management Authority), with the purpose of presenting and validating the draft report for the detailed sub-catchment management plans of the Gikondo and Nyabugogo wetlands systems.