National Technical Advisory Committee(NTAC) of Green Amayaga project conducted a field visit in Kamonyi District, Nyamiyaga sector, on May 30^th 2022 to assess the project's progress.

The Six years Forestry Landscape Restoration Project (FLR) is an initiative that aims to promote biodiversity, increase agricultural productivity, foster ecosystem services, and reduce the vulnerability of people and ecosystem to the adverse effects of climate change in Amayaga region.

The visit was also followed by a five-day meeting that ended on June 4^th, 2022, with the goal of looking together at the activities completed and planning the way forward for the project in the coming years.

National Technical Advisory Committee(NTAC) members discussed on the upcoming activities

Amayaga region is composed of four districts, including Ruhango, Kamonyi, Nyanza and Gisagara. This region used to have patches of forest that were a home to a variety of animal and bird species as well as being harbour carbon stocks and provide critical watershed services to the agricultural landscapes surrounding them but some big part the forests has almost disappeared and the remnant are natural and scattered indigenous forests covering 555ha and for this, the degradation of biodiversity in this region has brought many consequences, including soil erosion and land degradation which resulted in decreased agricultural productivity, endangerment or disappearance of some fauna and flora species.

The alarming level of threat to biodiversity and to the Amayaga region inhabitants provoked the Government of Rwanda to work with partners to adopt mechanisms, including the establishment of an ambitious initiative aiming at restoring forest landscape of Amayaga region and improve the livelihood of its inhabitants and create green jobs.

In order restore degrade forests project aims to plant eight million trees, fruit trees will be planted on 25,000ha to increase agro-forestation, improve productivity and well-being of inhabitants of the four districts. The project pushes and fast tracks the Government’s plan to maintain forest cover to 30.4% of the country’s total land area into the future.

Green Amayaga project which was officially launched on 23 October 2020 in Nyanza District is being implemented in four districts: Kamonyi, Ruhango, Nyanza and Gisagara, by the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) in partnership with the Rwanda Forestry Authority (RFA)

One among the forests planted by the Green Amayaga project in Nyamiyaga Sector- Kamonyi District