Partnering with WRI’s Africa Cities Water Adaptation (ACWA) Fund to Implement Kigali Wetlands Restoration NBS Project

Urbanized land in Kigali has tripled in 25 years, with more growth and densification expected, flooding problems are expected to intensity. To compound this, it is expected that by 2050, rainfall intensity shall increase by between 10 and 22 % due to climate change. This has even come true this year in May 2023. According to recent reports, Rwanda has of late experienced unusual heavy rainfall and landslides in the months of March to June (long rains season). On May 3rd, 2023, the New York Times reported in an article that more than 120 people were killed in devastating floods and landslides caused by heavy rains in Rwanda. This was according to the government’s official records, indicating that this was the highest death toll from a flood reported in a single day in the country’s recent history. Entire families were killed, injured or left homeless and in desperate need of assistance. It is out of such occurrences and societal challenges related to water security, urban transportation, agriculture and food security, housing security and livelihoods that WWF’s BHoA, in 2020 developed a Kigali Urban Wetlands Restoration NBS Case to protect Kigali city from flooding and improve the wellbeing of people in town by constructing urban wetlands.

This case, among other Investment ready cases including, a) Ghana’s Weija Dam Project aiming at increasing water production in Ghana through upstream NbS to meet Accra’s rising water demand; b) Kenya’s Coastal Mangrove Conservation Project to protect Mombasa and other urban centres along the coast from sea level rise and flooding by large scale mangrove forests and coastal reefs; c) Zambia’s Lukanga Swamps Restoration project to ensure energy and water supply to Lusaka and Kafue town by restoring Lukanga swamps as a major water sponge; and d) Uganda’s Rehabilitation of the AfDB funded Kampala-Malaba Standard gauge railway line were showcased and pitched to investors at during the 27th session of the UNFCCC in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt in Nov 2022.  

Since then, the bilateral collaboration between WRI and WWF BHoA has led into plans to finance the preparation of a Business Case for the financing of the Kigali Urban Wetlands Restoration case under the ACWA fund. Using funding support from ACWA fund, WRI and WWF BHoA working through WRI local office in Rwanda will:

• Organise and host a national level Stakeholders Validation Forum in Kigali before August 2023 and 
• Prepare, in consultation with key stakeholders in Rwanda including REMA, FONERWA, Private Sector and other partnering NGOs, a detailed NBS Business Case for financing the case to be presented and pitched to the World Bank. 

Latest discussions held with WRI Regional and Local officials from Rwanda, led by Rory Hunter and Marc Manyifika, have updated the process indicating that out of the 5 Wetlands marked by WWF technical NBS case for restoration in 2020, 3 are already covered by REMA under The Second Rwanda Urban Development Project (RUDP II). Restoration works (on Gikondo Wetlands) and additional feasibility studies (for Rugenge-Rwintare and Kibumba) are underway by the World Bank. 

Therefore, this leaves out other 2 Wetlands under the City of Kigali 2020 Marshal Plan, which are not targeted by the RUDP II. The partnership should therefore prioritize, in the next two steps above, the two remaining Wetlands of Lower Nyabugogo and Rwampara within the city for restoration – where REMA is yet to secure funds for design and restoration work. Given the planned eastward expansion and densification of the urban area of Kigali, there is potentially a greater need to expand restoration work to these aforementioned wetlands.  

• ^{_{CBA data on costs (CAPEX, OPEX), revenues (cash flows), repayments and financing gap was mined and provided during technical case development almost 2 years back. It is critical that another round of stakeholder engagement and validation process is conducted to firm up the proposed cost and benefit structure, institutional arrangements (anchoring institution) for management of bond issuance and initiation of project implementation.}}
• ^{_{WRI’s Managing Director for Africa}} 
• ^{_{WRI’s Rwanda Country Lead for Urban Water Resilience}}
• ^{_{City of Kigali (2020): Kigali Master Plan}}  

_{Eric Oyare is the Leader of WWF - Blue Heart of Africa Initiative, responsible for providing Freshwater technical programme development, business development, advocacy and communication support to 10 Country Offices and 7 transboundary landscapes where WWF implements Water Resources Management in Africa. For over 18 years, Eric has worked with organisations including WWF, Plan International, Gatsby Trust, ActionAid, Youth Enterprise Development Fund and UN Women, designing and developing medium to largescale portfolio of programmes, mobilizing funding, developing implementation and strategic partnerships with development, private and public institutions and policy advocacy with local and regional governmental bodies for long term change. His expertise are in the areas of Environmental Conservation, Gender and Development, Child Rights, Youth Economic Empowerment, and Market Systems Development. Eric holds an MA in Economic Policy and Management from the University of Nairobi, and is a founding Member of the Kenya Association of Fundraising Professionals, and the Evaluation Society of Kenya.}