Every minute of the day, we breathe in oxygen from the air around us. Without this colourless and odourless gas, humans and much of life on Earth simply wouldn’t exist. That’s just one reason why trees, forests and plant life are so important.

Not only do they produce the oxygen we breathe, they also help to cool the planet, filter pollutants and promote rainfall. You only need to spend a day in Nyungwe National Park to understand the power of forests.

It is for these reasons that Rwanda has prioritised forests for more than twenty years. Following decades of deforestation, the decision was taken to strengthen protections for natural forests, expand national parks through proper demarcation and buffer zones, and promote a vibrant and productive forestry industry.

Rwanda set the ambitious target to achieve 30% forest coverage by 2020, and thanks to strong partnerships between the Government of Rwanda, the private sector, development partners and citizens, this goal was achieved a year early.

A forest coverage map produced in 2019 showed that there was a more than 20% increase in forest coverage over the previous ten years - equating to a 5% afforestation rate over 10 years. Today, 30.4% of the country is covered with various types of forests.

Our goal is to maintain this level of coverage, while increasing the health and productivity of our forests. Despite this accomplishment, more remains to be done to protect forests and build a productive and high value timber and wood industry.

This is especially true for the country’s natural forests, including smaller remnant forests, that are home to rich biodiversity.

Forests in Rwanda now occupy 724,695 hectares of the country’s total land area, of which 130,850 hectares is natural forests, 161,843 hectares is wooded savannah and 43,963 hectares is shrubs.

The country’s 111 natural forests include large rainforests such as Nyungwe, Volcanoes and Gishwati-Mukura national parks as well as smaller forests. Natural forests are state-owned and are managed sustainably.

They are not harvested, and while no other activities can be carried out within these forests, some have become degraded over time and reforestation and regeneration efforts are underway.

In 2011, Rwanda committed to restoring two million hectares of degraded land, including natural forests, by 2030. Today, the country has 708,629 hectares under restoration, an effort which has created more than 22,000 jobs and resulted in 102,154,014 tonnes of carbon dioxide being sequestered.

As part of meeting this global commitment and protecting our environment, Rwanda is undertaking a number of initiatives to restore natural forests.

Following the restoration of the Gishwati-Mukura landscape (now a UNESCO Biosphere reserve), the Government of Rwanda and partners are embarking on a 6-year project to rehabilitate the Amayaga region using a forest landscape restoration approach.

One of the largest investments in Rwanda’s forests to date, the Green Amayaga project will restore 550 hectares of natural forests in the area, including the 354 hectare Kibirizi-Muyira forest and the Busaga forest reserves.

The Green Gicumbi project is restoring degraded watersheds through sustainable forestry. The Rwanda National Adaptation Planning Process project is also promoting agroforestry alongside the Ibanda-Makela Natural Forest in Kirehe District with drought resistant tree species to reduce soil erosion.

Other initiatives underway include the annual tree planting campaign, which will this year see more than 25 million trees planted, and working with private operators to ensure forestry concessions complement natural forest management and rehabilitation.

These are just a few examples that show the efficient and sustainable management of forestry resources, including natural forests, requires a multifaceted approach.

That is why Rwanda has introduced a 6-year strategic plan for the forestry sector to enhance the capacity of industry stakeholders to sustainably manage forests through integrated forest management plans at all levels.

These efforts will not only fully restore and expand natural forests, but also create a productive and profitable forestry industry in Rwanda that contributes positively to the country’s environmental protection and climate resilience goals.

The writer is the Director General of the Rwanda Forestry Authority.

The views expressed in this article are of the writer