GCF ED pays a courtesy visit Green Gicumbi Project

The Executive Director of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Mafalda Duarte on Thursday 7 September 2023 visited one of the Fund’s financed projects in Rwanda named ‘Strengthening Climate Resilience of Rural Communities in Northern Rwanda’, locally known as Green Green Gicumbi. 

Mafalda who was in Rwanda for her first official visit since she took office was accompanied by top Government officials led by Minister of Environment Honorable Dr. Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya. They visited three project intervention sites including the upland tea plantations and the ongoing construction of climate-resilient settlements.

Link to the project achievements to date: https://greenfund.rw/greengicumbi/sites/default/files/2023-09/Green%20Gicumbi_Fact%20Sheet_web%20%281%29.pdf.

During her visit, Mafalda met with local communities and interacted with them to see firsthand how interventions that are being implemented by Green Gicumbi are changing lives and strengthening their adaptive capacities to cope with the effects of climate change.

Impressed by the project’s achievements, She expressed her satisfaction with how the project is transforming the lives of the communities, including women, and committed herself to becoming Rwanda’s Green ambassador, wherever she may be.

“This has shown us the impact our resources have brought to your community, to your lives. This is really what we want to see. This is why we are doing this work. We want to impact the lives of people and create a significant improvement in the quality of their lives, bring new opportunities, new hope, and dignity, ” she said.

The Green Climate Fund is one of Rwanda’s key partners in supporting the country’s efforts toward building a climate-resilient and sustainable economy. One of the Fund’s first financed projects in Rwanda is the 6-year Green Gicumbi project which aims to strengthen the climate resilience of rural communities in Gicumbi District to adapt to the effects of climate change.

In her speech, Honorable Minister of Environment Dr. Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya called on the community to sustain the project gains.

“What we witnessed today is a result of combined efforts from you. I call on everyone to play a key role to ensure what the project has achieved is sustained. This will be the foundation of a better future for your descendants.”
“We thank GCF for being a key and reliable partner to support Rwanda’s efforts towards achieving this goal,” added Hon. Minister.

In the last 4 years, the Green Gicumbi project achieved different milestones including those in climate-resilient agriculture, forest rehabilitation, and climate-resilient settlements. Learn more about the project achievements: https://greenfund.rw/greengicumbi/home.

Beneficiaries’ testimonies

Alphonsine Mukarwego is one of the project beneficiaries who expressed contentment with Green Gicumbi project interventions.

''5 years ago, my tea plantation was washed away by floods. This was a heavy loss for my family since this was our source of income. I’m happy that our mountain tea will not be affected by floods anymore. We're grateful for this," she said.

“Tea planted by Green Gicumbi has not only given us hope for our better future but also controlled soil erosion. This area used to be eroded, our soil would go downstream. But, established trenches together with agroforestry have minimized all this,” supplemented Ufitabe Bernard a local farmer whose tea plantations also disappeared due to floods.

Click on the link for more pictures: https://www.flickr.com/photos/196971721@N05/albums/72177720311027447.

About vulnerabilities of Mulindi marshland

• In the last 10 years, more than 250 Ha of tea plantations in Mulindi marshland completely disappeared due to immense flooding that used to hit the place over the last 10 years.
• In response to the issue and in addition to protecting the watershed through the use of different erosion control practices/approaches, various adaptation measures were initiated by the project including the establishment of peripheral canals, the construction of two bridges as well and the encouragement of the local communities to embrace upland tea plantations. 
• A fifty-hectare demonstration site that was also established and planted with climate-resilient tea with a mixture of different types of agroforestry as well as trenches to control erosion. To date, the intervention benefits more than 500 smallholder farmers who have consolidated land.

About project

• In 2019, Rwanda received funding of USD 32 Million from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to implement the project entitled “Strengthening climate resilience of rural communities in Northern Rwanda.”
• The project is executed by the Rwanda Green Fund-FONERWA while the Ministry of Environment is the GCF accredited entity.
•  Project lifespan: 6 Years. The project covers 9 Sectors of the Gicumbi District.
• The project targets to reach 150,000 direct and 380,000 indirect beneficiaries

      Project main components

●    Watershed protection and climate-resilient agriculture 
●    Sustainable forest management and sustainable energy 
●    Climate resilient settlements
●    Knowledge transfer and mainstreaming