RCMRD in collaboration with Rwanda Water Resources Board(RWB), a partner under the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES and Africa) program hosted a two-day stakeholder engagement workshop in Rwanda from 11th-12th October 2022. The workshop aimed at sensitizing the various stakeholders from the natural resources management authorities in the Lands sector, Energy, Water, Mining, Agriculture, and Environment, of the existence of natural resources monitoring tools, understanding the status, and subsequently monitoring.
Additionally, the stakeholder’s engagement workshop aimed to acquire the needs of the local institutions in the country in the three thematic areas of Land Degradation Monitoring and Assessment, Wetland Monitoring and Assessment and Open Regional Reference Vector Database for Water and Agro-ecological zones, and to constitute Technical Working Groups (TWGs) from different Earth Observation institutions in Rwanda.
While officially opening the workshop, the Head of Knowledge and Forecasting Hub Department, Rwanda Water Resources Board (RWB) Mr. Bernard Musana, appreciated the long-standing partnership between RMRD and RWB not only through GMES and Africa but with other initiatives as well. He further stated that Rwanda had benefited through the installation of the E-station during phase 1 of the project and emphasized the importance of continued partnerships and capacity building
The GMES and Africa project under RCMRD involves collecting data from Earth observation satellites and other sources, and using this data to provide information on land use, water resources, and other environmental factors. The data is then made available to African countries, which can use it to inform decision-making in areas such as agriculture, disaster management, and natural resource management.
After a successful workshop, the stakeholders recommended the need for capacity building on early warning systems for timely warning and response, and research on the use of biomass energy was as a way of reducing land degradation impacted.
The following institutions were represented in the workshop:
1. Rwanda Water Resources Board
2. Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas board
3. Rwanda Energy Group
4. Rwanda Meteorology Department
5. Rwanda space agency
6. Rwanda Ministry of Environment
