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Under the theme “Plant a Tree, Nurture It, Save the Planet,” Rwanda has begun its 2024-2025 tree planting season with a strong commitment to plant over 65 million seedlings. This effort aims to address environmental issues such as climate change, global warming, desertification, and deforestation, halt biodiversity loss, and pave the way for a sustainable future for both people and nature.

Thousands of trees have been planted and continue to be planted as part of the TREPA project (), an initiative funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and accredited to the ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ��.

TREPA aims to strengthen the resilience of 75,000 small-scale farmers and rehabilitate 60,000 hectares

Minister of Environment Dr. Valentine Uwamariya said, “The Eastern Province has limited forest cover and receives little rainfall compared to other provinces. Whether the trees are indigenous or exotic species, planting more trees will help increase precipitation in this region. We also want local communities to take ownership of the trees they plant and manage them. Together, we can build a sustainable, green, resilient, and vibrant Rwanda,” Minister Uwamariya said during a mass gathering at the Kamamana site.

Munyaga site in Rwamagana is one of the TREPA sites found in the Eastern Province of Rwanda under restoration

which hosted the event and received thousands of new trees, is one of the TREPA project’s key locations. The project is being carried out by ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� in collaboration with the Belgian Development Agency (Enabel), CIFOR-ICRAF, the Rwanda Forestry Authority, Cordaid, and World Vision, with financial support from the Green Climate Fund. The project is working in all seven districts of Eastern Province, namely Nyagatare, Gatsibo, Kayonza, Rwamagana, Kirehe, Ngoma, and Bugesera.

, Ms. Kaori Yasuda, ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� Rwanda Country Representative, emphasized the importance of empowering local communities for sustainability.

“Today, we are planting more than just trees; we are planting hope. We are building resilience, transferring knowledge from one generation to the next, and empowering leaders who will protect our planet for us and future generations. This initiative shows that we all have a role to play in tackling climate change,” she said, inspiring local communities as they prepared to plant seedlings.

So far, through , tree planting has already begun. In partnership with local communities, the Rwanda Forestry Authority is planting agroforestry trees on farmlands, while under Enabel, afforestation is underway, and CIFOR-ICRAF is planting extensively in silvo-pastoral lands.

Grevillea robusta is a common tree species planted throughout Rwanda's Eastern Province, particularly on farmlands

The TREPA project is currently restoring 60,000 hectares of drought-degraded land into climate-resilient ecosystems through reforestation, agroforestry, restoration of pasturelands, and soil erosion control measures in all seven districts of Eastern Province.

Dr. Concorde Nsengumuremyi, Director General of the ), acknowledged the collaboration with ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� and highlighted that the trees being planted will help boost climate resilience, restore natural forests, enhance biodiversity, and promote sustainable agricultural practices.

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Rwandan women are playing a key role in leading climate action efforts by actively engaging with their communities

"My name is Uwimana Aline. I started working with TREPA project in 2023. I have been involved in nursery preparation, ensuring our site produces high-quality seedlings. When the right tree species are planted in the right places on a farm, they help improve soil fertility," said Aline.

"This is one of the many lessons we’ve learned from the TREPA project: trees help reduce soil moisture evaporation and provide organic matter from their leaves for compost.

Honestly, I didn’t understand the role of trees in agriculture before, but after joining TREPA project and receiving training, I and many have understood how trees benefit both the environment and agriculture."

"Our region often faces a lack of rain and drought, which causes crop failures. But we have learned that farmers who plant trees on their farms no longer experience soil erosion, drought is reduced, and in the coming years, we expect more rainfall and cleaner air," Aline affirmed.

Not only does Aline earn 2,500 Rwf for a half-day’s work in the nursery, but she also receives enough seedlings to plant on her parent’s farm.

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All the photos about 2024-2025 tree planting season in Rwanda can be found

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Fruit trees naturally provide a vital habitat and food for various wildlife species, such as birds, bees, butterflies, and other pollinators

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Duration:��23/12/2021 to 23/12/2027

Funding: $49.6 million, ($15. 8 million) as co-financing)

Accredited:��International Union for Conservation of Nature-��������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ��

Implementing Partners:��Government of Rwanda through Rwanda Forestry Authority, International Union for Conservation of Nature- ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ��, CIFOR- ICRAF, Cordaid, and World Vision.

Geographic Focus:��Active in 7 districts of Eastern Province of Rwanda: Gatsibo, Nyagatare, Bugesera, Ngoma, Kirehe, Kayonza, and Rwamagana.

Rwanda’s Eastern Province contains the largest area of national farming lands, but it is highly vulnerable to increasing drought. With smallholder farmers depending exclusively on rainfall, changes to weather seasonality including shorter and more intense rainy seasons have led to crop failure, food shortages and famine.��

Agriculture is predominantly practiced by smallholder farmers with agricultural production depending almost exclusively on the amount of rainfall during the rainy seasons.

A combination of climate change impacts and subsistence agriculture contribute to Eastern Province status as the region with the highest vulnerability to droughts and most severe potential reductions in crop production yields in Rwanda due to climate change.

In response to these climate change threats, integrated adaptation measures are needed to enhance the resilience of the landscape in the Eastern Province, which will sustain the agricultural production and enable sustainable growth of the region in a manner that reduces poverty, increases resilience, and achieves food security.

In 2021,��and��International Union for Conservation of Nature- ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ����secured a funding of USD33.8 million from the����to implement the project entitled “Transforming Eastern Province through Adaptation’’ commonly known as TREPA project. The implementation of the six-year investment is being jointly executed by ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� in collaboration with the Government of Rwanda through��,��,��,��, and��.

The TREPA project is on course to restore 60,000 ha of drought degraded landscapes into climate resilient ecosystems through reforestation, agroforestry, restoration of pasturelands and soil erosion control measures in all the seven districts of the Eastern Province namely Gatsibo, Nyagatare, Bugesera, Ngoma, Kirehe, Kayonza, and Rwamagana districts.��

The project also intends to increase the resilience of 75,000 small holder farmers.

The project has three components:

Component 1: Restored landscapes that support climate resilient agro-ecological systems and livelihoods in Eastern Province

This component will scale-up tested and diversified landscape restoration and resilient agricultural practices such as agroforestry and Silvopastoral practices as deliver restoration of degraded woodlots, tree plantations and ecologically critical buffer zones. Measures will restore ecosystem services and build resilience in drought-prone, degraded landscapes and thus achieve food security and reduce vulnerability of smallholder farmers.

This component has 5 outputs:

1. Diversified Agroforestry packages are scaled-up.
2. Woodlots and tree plantations are rehabilitated and sustainably managed for productive and ecological services.
3. Scale-up climate resilient Silvopastoral packages to restore degraded rangelands.
4. Protective restoration measures are scaled up to climate-proof fragile, ecologically sensitive and erosion prone lands.
5. Clean and efficient cooking energy technologies promoted through support to private sector and communities to transition/reduce biomass fuel consumption.

Component 2.�� Market and value chain development for climate resilient agricultural and tree products linked to financial products and services for sustainable management of agro-ecological systems

This Component focuses on the improvement of access to climate information, management of climate and other risks, and the enabling conditions in and around targeted agricultural and tree crop value chains, including access to finance. This component also facilitates the sustainability of the restoration actions, while using knowledge, information management and scaling of best practices developed by other project activities. ��Farmers that engage in land restoration will enhance their long-term food security and diversify income and production and be incentivized through economic benefits through engagement in production of timber, fodder, and honey.

This component has 3 outputs.

1. Farmers’ groups strengthened to adopt climate resilient land use practices with access to market and finances.
2. Enhanced climate resilience of agricultural value chains and commodities.
3. Enhanced financial inclusion and investments in climate resilient value chains.

Component 3.���� Strengthened enabling environment to effectively plan, manage and monitor climate adaptation outcomes from improved land use at national and decentralized levels

This component aims to effectively mainstream climate adaptation in national and sectoral strategies and to create an enabling environment for long-term and sustainable adaptation project results. The project adopts a strategy for mainstreaming based on using a climate lens to screen current policies and strategies and integrate climate resilience metrics for improved monitoring and reporting.

These measures will further provide the opportunity to build-in appropriate climate proofing measures and include projects and activities that will reduce climate vulnerability. This will lead to a systematic consideration of climate change risks and adaptation in policy planning that will be sustained beyond the project duration.

This component has 4 outputs.

1. Strengthened gender-responsive climate resilience for coordinated cross-sectoral planning and community landscape restoration plans developed.
2. Enhanced and coordinated knowledge and information systems for decision and negotiation support.
3. Seed and seedling supply systems are enhanced to provide diverse climate adapted species and varieties.
4. Evidence from best practices generated and disseminated.

Rwandan local communities contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation as part of the ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ��’s mission in Rwanda