RECOMMENDATIONS

1. It is recommended that the Rwanda Environment In- formation Network (REIN) be established to facilitate en- vironmental data exchange, and to reduce duplication of ef- fort, thus making more efficient use of financial resources.

2. Institutional coordination and capacity building for both staff and equipment are needed.

3. In order to improve access to information, an environ- mental resource centre needs to be established.

4. The REIN should undertake activities that promote the use of environmental information in decision- making processes at all levels within the country. These activities must be carried out within the framework of Rwanda’s obligations towards meeting national develop- ment goals and targets. Each network member would con- tinue to provide information support to national priorities such as the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy while still fulfilling their own mandate.

5. All REIN network members should develop a system for documenting their research findings in order to ad- dress the lack of awareness of existing and available environmental information. This can be done through the development of metadata.

7. Policies and strategies to guide access to and man- agement of environmental information must be devel- oped. This would strengthen the provisions for informa- tion management that already exist under the current legal and policy frameworks.

6. An outreach strategy should be developed to enhance dissemination and use of generated information, as well as increase awareness of the REIN. Positive per- ceptions amongst the public and policy makers would contribute to better understanding of the value of data and justify the need for networking.

8