Reducing vulnerability to climate change through enhanced community-based biodiversity conservation in the Eastern Province of Rwanda (COMBIO).

The Ministry of Environment and the Swedish Government have signed a partnership agreement to build the resilience of communities living in Rwanda’s Eastern Province to the impacts of climate change through the COMBIO Project. This partnership will support a project that will reduce vulnerability to climate change through community-based biodiversity restoration and conservation. The COMBIO Project is a joint effort led by the Ministry of Environment with implementation support from the Rwanda Forestry Authority (RFA), The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and Enabel. 

The project will be implemented in the districts of Kayonza, Nyagatare, Gatsibo, Kirehe, Ngoma, Bugesera, and Rwamagana of the whole Eastern Province. The project will be implemented for six years from December 2021 to December 2027. Towards addressing the climate change impacts on ecosystems, restoration interventions of degraded lands and vulnerable ecosystems have been implemented in various places across the country. Restoration activities are still needed to assist in the recovery of degraded ecosystems to sustain their biodiversity and re-establish their ecological functions, putting the emphasis on increasing biodiversity in restored landscapes. These activities will also contribute to the improvement of the livelihoods of communities by adopting appropriate measures to mitigate climate change impacts, thus contributing to the conservation of biodiversity and increasing ecosystem services.