PREFACE

People’s dependence on natural resources justifies the need to monitor and evaluate the impact of human activities on the environment and the need to make decisions which ensure sustainable development. Environmental assessment and reporting are a key cat- alyst in the drive towards sustainable development.

During the preparation of the fi rst Rwanda State of Environ- ment and Outlook in 2009, it became evident that there is a lack of reliable core datasets and indicators on the environ- ment. As such there is need for improved collaboration be- tween institutions dealing with environmental information management. All institutions working in the natural resourc- es sector will benefi t from the creation of an infrastructure for sharing environmental data. An environmental information network that improves data access at all levels of society will in turn support the country’s sustainable development objec- tives.

With the valuable support from the United Nations Envi- ronment Programme’s Global Resource Information Data- base based in Arendal (UNEP/GRID Arendal), the Govern- ment of Rwanda undertook an assessment of the status of environmental information management in the country in 2009. This was necessitated by the need to understand the existing institutional and policy framework for environmental data management, data availability, and data use and sharing mechanisms.

This report contains the fi ndings of the assessment and pro- vides a number of recommendations for consideration in setting up the Rwanda Environment Information Network,

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including the establishment of working groups in order to ensure that the network is functional. The establishment of a national environmental resource centre is also very important to improve access to environmental information, as well as to facilitate informed and science-based decision-making.

I take this opportunity to thank UNEP/GRID Arendal for their valuable support. My deep appreciation goes to the Govern- ment of Rwanda through the Ministry of Environment and Lands for their leadership and also to other national institu- tions and individuals who contributed to the production of this report. It is my hope that this report will provide guid- ance towards the improvement of environmental information management in Rwanda.