Rwandan farmers facing the increased likelihood of landslides, flooding and droughts from climate change will benefit from an agreement by the Green Climate Fund to begin transferring funds to Rwanda’s Ministry of Environment.

Vincent Biruta, Rwanda’s Minister of Environment, and Javier Manzanares, Executive Director ad interim, concluded the implementation agreement on Thursday during COP24 in Katowice, Poland.

The project will develop climate-resilient settlements for families living in northern Rwandan areas prone to climate impact by supporting community-based adaptation planning and livelihoods diversification.

Mr Biruta said: “Rwanda is committed to the success of this project. It will positively impact the lives of thousands of Rwandans and boost the country’s adaptive capacity to deal with climate change. We hope these efforts will result in a project that can be replicated across the country, and scaled up to ensure sustainability and resilience are at the heart of Rwanda’s socio-economic transformation.”

Mr Manzales lauded the project as it is “focused strongly on the needs of the most vulnerable who have the least resources to deal with climate change.” “We want to ensure that resilience becomes embedded within communities living in Rwanda’s Gicumbi District, which is particularly prone to climate effects.”

The joint adaptation and mitigation project will expand access to fuel efficient cooking and increase the capacity of communities to renew and sustainably manage forest resources. A key feature is its support for smallholder farmers to adopt climate-resilient agriculture.