1. General information
2. Objectives of the intervention
Goals of the intervention
Wetlands in Kigali have been threatened by human activities mainly due to conversion to agriculture, human settlements, commercial and industrial activities decreasing the flood and pollution abatement capacity of wetlands, but the implementation of urban plans promised to help them recover. Kigali City has 37 wetlands comprising a total area of over 7,700 ha. The present intervention focuses on the Nyandungu Wetland and its rehabilitation, with the following goals:
1. To restore the wetlands’ ‘sponge’ effect to retain stormwater runoff and reduce flooding: urban wetlands absorb excess rainfall, which reduces flooding in cities and prevents disasters and their subsequent costs.
2. To improve wetland buffering to improve water quality.
3. To restore wetland habitat as green urban space for recreation: biodiversity conservation through the introduction of native tree species and terrestrial habitat restoration.
4. Ecosystem rehabilitation through Urban Wetland rehabilitation also contributes toward global mitigation of climate change and promote carbon sequestration. (1,2,4)
1. To restore the wetlands’ ‘sponge’ effect to retain stormwater runoff and reduce flooding: urban wetlands absorb excess rainfall, which reduces flooding in cities and prevents disasters and their subsequent costs.
2. To improve wetland buffering to improve water quality.
3. To restore wetland habitat as green urban space for recreation: biodiversity conservation through the introduction of native tree species and terrestrial habitat restoration.
4. Ecosystem rehabilitation through Urban Wetland rehabilitation also contributes toward global mitigation of climate change and promote carbon sequestration. (1,2,4)
Quantitative targets
To rehabilitate an area of 121 ha of the wetland including adding: walkways-4080 m, bicycle lanes-3955 m, ponds-8, catchment ponds-5, recreation ponds-3, area of parking-3115 m2, roads-1100 m2;
To create a medicinal garden-780 m2 and a pope’s garden-525 m2;
To serve approx. 900,000 people;
To protect more than 62 local plant species;
To protect 70 bird species and butterflies ;
To contribute to the national effort of achieving 30.4% forestry cover in Rwanda (native and indigenous trees are considered: Accacia spp, bamboo and exotic species) (1,2,3,4)
To create a medicinal garden-780 m2 and a pope’s garden-525 m2;
To serve approx. 900,000 people;
To protect more than 62 local plant species;
To protect 70 bird species and butterflies ;
To contribute to the national effort of achieving 30.4% forestry cover in Rwanda (native and indigenous trees are considered: Accacia spp, bamboo and exotic species) (1,2,3,4)
Monitoring indicators defined
Size of the area to be rehabilitated
Number of people benefiting from the intervention
Number of local plants and species of bird protected
Size of forestry cover (1,2,3,4)
Number of people benefiting from the intervention
Number of local plants and species of bird protected
Size of forestry cover (1,2,3,4)
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Climate change mitigation: What were the goals of the NBS?
Climate change mitigation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Habitats and biodiversity conservation: What types of conservation goals are / were defined for the NBS intervention?
Habitats and biodiversity conservation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Implementation activities
Nyandungu Wetland Eco-Tourism Park is composed of ornamental ponds, gallery forests, medicinal plant gardens, paved walkways and cycle lanes, restaurants, information centres, recreational and other biodiversity services. It is meant to attract both foreign and local visitors to the City of Kigali. Nyandungu Wetland Eco-Tourism Park is part of Rwanda’s efforts to restore and conserve ecosystems while promoting social-economic development. Nyandungu Wetland Eco-Park was constructed and designed with green infrastructure and services strategies for green energy, saving and recycling water, use of local and natural materials as well as architectural designs that maximize natural lighting and ventilation have been deployed. Between late 2018 to 2021, different activities took place: Planting trees (nursery preparation of native trees), Gabion construction, widening of the stream, and filtration of plants to allow the expansion of the wetland, and the filtration of water coming from the neighbouring community, Water ponds: excavation and grass planting works of ponds to play an important role in flood risks management. (1,2)
3. NBS domains, ES and scale
4. Governance and financing
5. Innovation
Type of innovation
Novelty level of the innovation
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
It is not known if indeed the innovation was derived from other projects as the sources are not mentioning anything in that sense.
Replicability/Transferability
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
As Kigali has 37 wetlands, one might assume the replicability of this innovation might transfer to other locations. As a matter of fact, one of the sources mentions a nearby wetland called Gikondo, where the government in 2019-2020 relocated an industrial area away from the flood-prone Gikondo wetland to a safer location. This action both reduced flood risk to property as well as restored some of the retention capacity of the wetlands. (4)
