Focus on Rwanda

The report identifies four critically stressed ecosystem services in Rwanda: maintenance of biodiversity, food and fibre provision, water supply, purification and regulation, and fuel provision. These stresses are linked to threats in human well-being, specifically the ability to be adequately nourished, access clean water, obtain energy for warmth and cooking, and earn a livelihood. The analysis highlights Kibungo and Butare as priority areas where multiple ecosystem services and well-being constituents are simultaneously under threat. The report argues that increasing food production through land expansion is unfeasible and recommends agricultural intensification and improved watershed management.

• Four ecosystem services are identified as critically stressed in Rwanda: maintenance of biodiversity, food and fibre provision, water supply, purification and regulation, and fuel provision.
• Biodiversity loss in Rwanda is severe, driven by the disappearance of national parks and habitat destruction, with natural forests declining by 78 per cent since 1990.
• Food production is constrained by steep topography and declining soil fertility, with approximately half of Rwanda's farmlands showing moderate to severe soil erosion.
• Water security is threatened by the conversion of wetlands into agricultural land and deforestation in high-elevation areas, which reduces the capacity of watersheds to store and release water.
• Energy security is critical as over 96 per cent of Rwandans depend on wood for domestic energy, leading to unsustainable consumption of forests and wooded savannahs.
• Human well-being is severely impacted, with 51 per cent of the population living below the poverty line and 50 per cent lacking access to clean drinking water.
• Kibungo and Butare are identified as high-priority regions for development and further investigation because they exhibit stresses across all four main ecosystem services and threats to multiple well-being constituents.
• Expanding cropland is not a feasible solution for improving nourishment because 90 per cent of arable land is already under cultivation; instead, the report recommends intensification of existing land with proper input management.

APA

Wong, C., Roy, M., & Duraiappah, D. A. K. (2005). Focus on Rwanda. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/economics_poverty_rwanda.pdf

Chicago

Wong, Carissa, Marlene Roy, and Dr. Anantha Kumar Duraiappah. Focus on Rwanda. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2005. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/economics_poverty_rwanda.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Wong |first1=Carissa |last2=Roy |first2=Marlene |last3=Duraiappah |first3=Dr. Anantha Kumar |title=Focus on Rwanda |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2005 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/economics_poverty_rwanda.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wong2005focus, author = {Wong, Carissa and Roy, Marlene and Duraiappah, Dr. Anantha Kumar}, title = {{Focus on Rwanda}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2005}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/economics_poverty_rwanda.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }