Press Release No:2005/554/AFR
WashingtonDC, June 30, 2005 - The World Bank Board of Directors today approved a project to manage integrated critical ecosystems in Rwanda.
The Integrated Management of Critical Ecosystems project has an overall cost of US$53.3 million and is being funded by a Global Environment Facility (GEF) grant of US$ 4.3 million.
The project is fully built into the design and implementation of the first phase of the Rural Sector Support Program, a 14-year adaptable lending program. The first phase of this adaptable lending program consists of a project that focuses on building the institutional and technical capacities that are needed to generate and promote the adoption of efficient cropping and post harvest technologies that will support the process of agricultural intensification.
The activities of this first phase are organized into five components: rehabilitation of farmed marshland and hill-side areas; promotion of commercial and export agriculture; support to agricultural services delivery systems; small-scale rural infrastructure development, and promotion of off-farm production activities in rural areas.
The GEF-funded component, the Integrated Management of Critical Ecosystems project, is associated with the component dealing with the rehabilitation of farmed wetlands and hill-side areas.
By promoting these productivity-enhancing and environmentally friendly farming technologies, the Integrated Management of Critical Ecosystems project will help increase food production and rural income. In addition to improving the livelihood of farming communities, it will also help ensure a better protection of the natural resource base through the promotion of an integrated approach to land resource management that supports the rehabilitation of degraded wetlands, hill-sides, and catchments areas, and the formulation and implementation of community-based conservation plans for selected wetlands.
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a mechanism for providing new and additional grant and concessional funding to meet the agreed incremental costs of measures to achieve agreed global environmental benefits in the four focal areas - climate change; biological diversity; international waters; and ozone layer depletion. GEF also supports the work of the global agreements to combat desertification and eliminate persistent organic pollutants.
The World Bank Group is one of GEF's implementing agencies and supports countries in preparing GEF co-financed projects and supervises their implementation. It plays the primary role in ensuring the development and management of investment projects. The Bank draws upon its investment experience in eligible countries to promote investment opportunities and to mobilize private sector, bilateral, multilateral, and other government and non-government sector resources that are consistent with GEF objectives and national sustainable development strategies. Since 1991, the World Bank Group has committed $1.972 billion in GEF resources and $3.037 billion in Bank group co-financing for GEF projects in 80 countries. In addition to GEF and Bank resources, it has mobilized additional co-financing of $6.952 billion from other donors.
For more information on the World Bank's work in sub-Saharan Africa visit: http://www.worldbank.org/afr
For further information on Bank's GEF program, visit http://www.worldbank.org/gef
For further information on GEF, visit www.theGEFweb.org
For more information about World Bank's activities in Rwanda visit: http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/AFRICAEXT/RWANDAEXTN/0,,menu
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For more information about the project, please visit: http://web.worldbank.org/external/default/main?pagePK=64027221&piPK=64027220&theSitePK=368651&menuPK=368755&Projectid=P070700