ESF completed environmental and social assessment and the developing of Environmental Management Plan for Rural Sector Support Project in the Republic of Rwanda. RSSP is World Bank and Government of Rwanda project aimed at revitalizing the rural economy and improving the quality of life of the rural poor through increased transfer of technical and financial resources for sustainable rural development.
The project involves development of irrigation infrastructures including building of dams in selected wetlands all over the country and irrigation networks. ESF also provided capacity building for the project secretariat, ministerial, provincial, and district officials in environmental monitoring; and regional and site specific environmental assessments in addition to hydrological and biodiversity studies of wetlands in the project area.
The study analyzed environmental analysis and planning to support irrigation developments that realize agricultural benefits while minimizing the consequent reduction of marshland ecological services (e.g. water retention, downstream flood mitigation, biodiversity) and minimize potential environmental health impacts (e.g. malaria, bilharzia) and pollution (e.g. runoff of excess fertilizers and pesticides).
