The uptake of clean cooking gas in schools, improved cookstoves in communities, and the restoration of degraded forests are among the key initiatives that have led to the reduction of more than 600,000 tonnes of carbon emissions in the four districts that make up Amayaga region, officials at Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) say. ALSO READ: Rwanda on course to restore two million hectares of deforested land The districts include Kamonyi, Ruhango, Nyanza, and Gisagara. Since 2020, Rwanda embarked on a $32 million project to advance the restoration of degraded forests in the area, whose landscape covers more than 550 hectares—representing 0.14 per cent of Rwanda’s total natural forests, 10 per cent of planted forests, as well as many patches of remnant forest. Amayaga region also hosts the 354-hectare natural forest of Kibirizi-Muyira, as well as the Busoga forest reserves. ALSO READ: Deforestation in Eastern Province raises concern The initiative focused on forests that support important biodiversity and provide crucial ecosystem services to local communities. Rémy Songa, Coordinator of the Green Amayaga Project at REMA, said it had initially set a target of planting trees on 26,300 hectares, but succeeded in planting trees on more than 37,000 hectares. As part of its programmes, REMA also distributed improved cookstoves to 60,000 households. “The project supported 20 schools in the districts of Kamonyi, Ruhango, Nyanza, and Gisagara to adopt clean cooking gas. “Where schools used to spend Rwf4 million on firewood, they now spend Rwf2.8 million. All these initiatives have enabled Rwanda to reduce air-polluting emissions equivalent to more than 625,000 tonnes,” he said during a clean air campaign in Kamonyi District, held as part of the International Day of Clean Air. ALSO READ: Project in pipeline to restore Congo-Nile Divide Father Jean D’Amour Majyambere, the head of St Bernadette School in Kamonyi District, talked about the difference between using firewood and cooking gas. “When I buy firewood worth Rwf5 million, we use it within three months, but cooking gas worth Rwf2 million lasts us six months. If we were to rely on firewood for six months, it would cost us over Rwf10 million,” he explained. According to REMA, the use of cooking gas in schools was piloted to inform initiatives that could scale up adoption in schools countrywide. The government has set a goal of phasing out the use of firewood and charcoal in schools by 2032, replacing them with fuel-efficient stoves and cleaner alternatives such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The move aims to curb deforestation, reduce carbon emissions, and cut the high costs associated with firewood use, according to the National School Feeding Programme 2023–2032. According to the Ministry of Education, the programme currently covers four million students in pre-primary, primary, and secondary schools, with the number expected to reach six million by 2032. If all 5,300 schools under the programme continue to use firewood, tree consumption would exceed 26,000 tonnes per month—amounting to 310,000 tonnes annually and costing about Rwf8.6 billion.
