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By James Karuhanga
Nearly
four years after its founding, the environment and climate change
investment fund (FONERWA) has created projects that now employ almost
60,000 people.
Bright Ntare, the
Fund's programme manager, told The New Times that, to-date, Green Fund
investments have restored more than 8,500 hectares of watersheds and
water bodies and protected almost 13,000 hectares of land against
erosion.
Ntare said: "The
Fund has also supported tree planting and agro forestry on more than
21,000 hectares across the country. In terms of green growth, 6,807
households have improved access to off-grid energy.
"Projects funded by
Green Fund are employing almost 60,000 people, supporting sustainable
livelihood development in all corners of the country."
FONERWA, the
largest of its kind in Africa, is the engine of green growth in the
country. It invests in public and private projects that have the
potential for transformative change and that align with Rwanda's
commitment to building a strong green economy.
The Green Fund provides expert technical assistance to ensure the success of its investments.
Every six months,
the Fund carries out a formalised process of public calls for proposals
(CFPs). During a one month window of opportunity, applicants submit
their project concepts, known as Project Profile Documents (PPDs),
developed according to pre-established criteria.
The proposals are
then taken through a rigorous screening process overseen by the Fund
management team before funding decisions are made by a fund managing
committee.
Ninth call for proposals
Last week, the
Green Fund called on ministries, government agencies, districts, private
sector, academic institutions and civil society to submit funding
proposals for initiatives that promote mainstreaming of environmental
protection, climate change and green growth.
In this ninth call
for proposals, the Fund is targeting projects and programmes developed
primarily in line with key sectors of the economy, including
agriculture, energy, transport, environment, urban and rural settlement
and water and sanitation.
The Fund seeks
applications that propose green and climate resilient initiatives that
will improve the performance and sustainability of a given sector.
Ntare said: "The Fund considers all sizes of funding applications, and assesses the investment amount on a case-by-case basis.
"Over the last
three years, we have made investments in climate resilience to the value
of Rwf450 million up to Rwf3 billion per project."
The call for
funding proposals is open from August 15 until September 14, with
interested parties requested to submit applications, online, through the
fund's website at www.fonerwa.org.
Criteria
Among the criteria
for consideration will be the involvement of multiple stakeholders in
developing a project or programme including public, private, NGOs as
well as academic and research institutions.
Collaborative
effort, it is noted, must specify the role of each partner and must
adhere to the core principles of national planning by sector working
groups.
The coordinator of
the Green Fund, Alex Mulisa, said Rwanda can only build climate change
resilience and develop sustainably if everyone is on board and working
together.
"Climate
mainstreaming is about ensuring that the environment and climate change
are at the core of our development plans, policies and strategies. We
want to invest in initiatives that bring all stakeholders to the table
to incorporate sustainability and green growth into a sector's
development," he said.
"By bringing
everyone on board, we know the return on investment for Rwanda's
socio-economic development and natural environment will be immense."
Over the last three years, the Green Fund has mobilised $100 million for climate resilience initiatives.
To-date, the Fund has approved 33 investments that help Rwanda reduce its carbon footprint and adapt to a warmer planet.
CREDIT: ALLAFRICA
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