development. Traditionally, libraries were looked upon as places where collections of books are housed. This concept has evolved and today they are considered as places where there is free ac- cess to information in a choice of formats and from a range of sources. By improving access to and use of information, librar- ies or resource centres support education and research and by extension social and economic development. The concept has proved very successful in Uganda and has even trickled down to the district level.

There are strong arguments in support of establishing an en- vironment resource centre in Rwanda. The primary objective would be to improve access to environmental information at all levels, as it is not rare to find information being personal- ised (Byansi 2009). REMA, as the lead environmental agency in Rwanda, should consider establishing a resource centre as a public service to those seeking information on the environment.

Core information management functions of institutions

Data gathering Data collation

Library and archiving

Data interpretation and analysis Reporting

Data warehousing Dissemination

Visualization/Decision support

020406080100%

Figure 5: Core information management functions of institutions Application

Information is produced so that it can be used. The main area of interest in this section is to investigate how the information produced is used and who uses it.

Uses to which environmental information is put

In general, information is used to support a variety of func- tions. The various applications including monitoring, compli- ance, enforcement of regulations, policy formulation, research and operations shows an appreciation and ability of institutions to utilise environmental data and information as a resource. Figure 6 shows that the majority of the institutions use infor- mation for decision-making. The second most common use of information is for planning and management.

Uses of information

Decision support Planning/Zoning Operations Management Policy formulation

Licensing Monitoring compliance

Enforcement of regulations

Research 020406080100% Figure 6: Uses of information

There are opportunities to learn from the experiences of other countries. In Lesotho, data from one member of the Environ- ment Information Network (the National Environment Sec- retariat) has been used to support conservation activities in highly degraded areas. Through the Maloti Drakensber Trans- frontier project, areas of high biodiversity value were identified and maps such as that in Figure 3.7 produced. These maps were disseminated to all affected districts and have played a big part during the formulation of the district development plans (UNEP undated).

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