Rwanda marks biodiversity day with a call to reconnect with nature

The event organized by the Ministry of Environment in Rwanda’s capital city of Kigali featured discussions about the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework adopted by countries as part of efforts to halt and reverse nature loss.

Speaking at the event, Rwandan Minister of Environment Jeanne d'arc Mujawamariya said the country’s development agenda recognizes the central role that biodiversity plays in terms of supporting national economic growth.

“At least eight out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals depend on biodiversity and nature. We cannot develop our nation unless we put the environment at the heart of everything we do,” she said.

The minister warned against cutting down trees, saying it was a sure path towards extinction.

“We need to reverse this trend, and educate future generations to understand the importance of biodiversity in everything we do for a brighter future,” she added.

The Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) highlighted that Rwanda's biodiversity plays a critical role in ecosystem services such as ensuring water provision, air for breathing, controlling soil erosion, controlling flooding, as well as climate change mitigation.

“Biodiversity is part of our lives. Growing up, I was surrounded by nature and this helped build my passion for protecting the environment and understand the importance of biodiversity. I encourage us all to reconnect with nature and prioritize biodiversity,” Juliet Kabera, director general of REMA told an audience of stakeholders of Rwanda’s climate, environment and natural resources sector.

Johanna Teague, the Swedish ambassador to Rwanda said there is a need to boost partnerships between government, the private sector and civil society and invest heavily in nature based solutions.

Globally, 824 billion U.S. dollars is said to be needed to build back biodiversity but only 143 billion is being invested.

The day was marked under the international theme "From agreement to action: Build back Biodiversity” aimed to remind nations that biodiversity is essential to ecosystem function and services delivery.

The International Day for Biological Diversity is marked on May 22 as an occasion to acknowledge the crucial role healthy biodiversity plays in the survival of the planet and assess the nature crisis.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted by 196 nations at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties in Montreal, Canada, in December 2022. It set global goals of 30% conservation of land and sea as well as 30% restoration of degraded ecosystems by 2030 among other commitments.