Rwanda has received a Rwf3.5bn (€3.3m) Nordic Development Fund (NDF) grant that will be used to improve woodlot management, charcoal production and tree seeds.

The woodlot management part of the project is part of the effort to conserve Gishwati-Mukura landscape in the western part of the country.

In an event held in Kigali to launch the project, the Director General of the Rwanda Environmental Management Authority (REMA); Coletha Ruhamya said that the money will also go towards boosting efficient charcoal production and promotion of alternative sources of energy.

Building upon existing plans and training, the NDF-funded activities will initiate local-level planning of existing woodlots to improve management and increase productivity.

Ruhamya said that the project components also include strengthening cooperatives to improve charcoal production techniques as well as the value, quality and marketing of the charcoal produced.

Additionally, NDF will support the National Seed Centre in order to improve and diversify the tree seed pool.

The final part of the project will target commercial tea factories' wood consumption and households’ cooking needs through analysis and promotion of sustainable alternatives.

"This grant will allow us to contribute more to increasing forest cover, improving wood fuel value chains, improving the quality of our tree seeds, creating jobs, increasing our country’s resilience to climate change and improving socio-economic welfare,” she said.

The project will be complete in December 2019.