With support from the African Development Bank (AfDB), Rwanda has won approval of a US $250,000 grant under the Climate Investment Funds' Forest Investment Program (CIF FIP) to prepare its national-level FIP Investment Plan (IP).
Rwanda was selected by the CIF in May 2015 as part of a third round of countries approved for support by the FIP. With an ambitious target of covering 30% of its landmass by forests by 2020, the Government of Rwanda is committed to transforming its rural sector into a more sustainable and low carbon economy through sustainable forest management and preservation of national forest ecosystems. The country intends to use FIP funding to build upon this political momentum to ensure that it will effectively support and enhance its already robust forestry policies. In line with this, the IP will supply the country with an agroforestry action plan through 2020, along with analyses of national forest policies and strategies, deforestation and forest degradation status, and potential mitigation and adaptation measures. Support to the country for the IP development will be provided by the AfDB as lead and the World Bank.
"Rwanda was chosen by the FIP to receive Investment Plan support based on its potential to contribute to climate mitigation and generate enhanced development co-benefits, as well as its ability to implement funding," stated Gareth Phillips, AfDB's coordinator for the FIP. "However, as there are currently no FIP resources to implement the plan, the Government will seek financial resources for implementation from the Green Climate Fund and other available resources. To support this, the AfDB and World Bank intend to develop two project concept notes to be submitted to various donor sources for operational funding. This is an important step in the integration of CIF-supported work with other sources of climate finance, and we applaud Rwanda's foresight and ambition in pursuing this process."
Rwanda is also serving a critical leading role in the CIF by acting as a bellwether for integration of different paths to climate sustainability with CIF support. In addition to the FIP, the country is developing plans under two other CIF programs. Through the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR) it is developing a national-level investment plan, called a Strategic Plan for Climate Resilience, to protect water resources and further develop its hydropower industry; and through the Program for Scaling Up Renewable Energy in Low Income Countries (SREP), it is developing an Investment Plan to scale up renewable energy generation. In the process, the country is helping lead the way toward finding commonalities among its program goals and harmonizing its approach to the multi-dimensional process. Through each of these funds, the country intends to foster an enabling regulatory environment and an attractive investment climate for the private sector to reduce the barriers for transformational change.
About the Climate Investment Funds (CIF)
Established in 2008, as one of the largest fast-tracked climate financing instruments in the world, the $8.3 billion CIF provides developing countries with grants, concessional loans, risk mitigation instruments, and equity that leverage significant financing from the private sector, MDBs and other sources. Five MDBs - the African Development Bank (AfDB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and World Bank Group (WBG) - implement CIF-funded projects and programs. The Forest Investment Program (FIP) within the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) is a targeted program established to support countries' efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and promote sustainable forest management and enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+).
