Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, will be home to a new 134-hectare urban park in 2020 in the city’s Nyandungu wetland.

Credits: REMA, rendered image.  

The Nyandungu Urban Wetland Eco-Tourism Park will provide walking and cycling trails, fish ponds, botanical gardens for tourists, whilst conserving wetlands for habitat.

Speaking on the sidelines of the African Green Growth Forum 2018 in Kigali, Deputy Director of Rwanda’s Environment Management Authority (REMA), Faustin Munyazikwiye, shared details of the park, which is being developed in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the city. He said the government wanted to restore the area’s flora and bird life for the benefit of tourists, residents and researchers, reports Emmanuel Hitimana from Inter Press Service.

Funds for the eco-tourism park were mobilised by REMA through bilateral agreements between the governments of Rwanda and Italy, with Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), an inter-governmental organisation, providing technical assistance.

Francesco La Camera of the Italian Ministry of Environment Land and Sea, said: “We want to facilitate all the goals the Rwandan government has for sustainable green growth.”

Rwanda is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries, but it has answered the call to advance green growth by involving policymakers, entrepreneurs, and communities.