CCE Country Profile
RWANDA
Table of Contents
We encourage countries to give input on the profiles to assist us in keeping them accurate and up to date. Please contact the GEM Report (education.profiles(at)unesco.org) or the MECCE Project (mecce.info(at)usask.ca) to give input. The country profiles are also available on the GEM Report’s Profiles Enhancing Education Reviews (PEER) website at education-profiles.org.
This profile has been reviewed by country experts.
CONTEXT
I) Climate change context
Rwanda lies in an equatorial zone with thousands of mountains and hills that influence the region’s climate. According to the World Bank, Rwanda is vulnerable to natural disasters such as floods, droughts, earthquakes, landslides, and storms.
With a population of over 12.5 million people, the Global Carbon Atlas indicates that Rwanda is a low-carbon emitting country, with per person emissions of 0.1t CO2/Person in 2019. Nevertheless, the Nationally Determined Contributions shows that the country’s carbon emissions have been declining since 2015, and notes that the country aspires to move towards carbon neutrality.
The country’s updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC; 2020) show that agriculture accounts for most of the country’s carbon emissions at 55%, followed by energy at 32%. A World Bank report (2020) notes that 40% of the food produced in Rwanda per year is lost due to transportations and storage issues, and that post-harvest food losses account for 16% of annual greenhouse emissions. A 2019 report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations indicates food losses are due to inadequate infrastructure. Furthermore, a 2013 report from the International Fund for Agriculture Development notes these losses are likely to increase given the country’s vulnerability to climate change and current reliance on rain-fed agriculture.
Rwanda ratified the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1995 and is designated a Non-Annex I (non-industrialized) Party. Rwanda signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2004, accepted the Doha Amendment in 2015, and signed and ratified the Paris Agreement in 2016.
According to the Indigenous World (2020), Rwanda has an estimated 25,000-30,000 Indigenous people known as Batwa who are said to be marginalized in various sectors including education and housing, and who are affected by climate actions such as forest conservation. The country ‘s Development Board has implemented a Tourism Revenue Sharing (TRS) program where 5-10% of the tourism revenue is reinvested back to the Batwa communities living around parks through community cooperatives and associations.
II) Relevant government agencies
Climate change
The Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), under the Ministry of Environment, is one of Rwanda’s key government agencies for climate change communication and education. While both REMA and the Ministry of Environment are responsible for making and implementing climate change policies, programs, and activities, REMA assumes a significant role in coordinating climate actions under its Department of Environment Education and Mainstreaming (DEEM). REMA is also the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) Focal Point.
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning is another critical government agency involved in climate change communication and education. The Ministry is responsible for planning and mobilizing resources for the country’s environment and climate change communication and education programs, including determining relevant budget allocations. Other agencies also provide funding for climate change communication and education to complement what the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning allocates. For example, the Fund for Climate Change and Environment in Rwanda provides technical and financial support to private and public climate change communication and education projects that align with the country’s green economy objectives.
The Rwanda Meteorology Agency is responsible for providing climate and weather information and early warnings in the country. The Agency partners with the Ministry of Infrastructure in disseminating climate change information through the radio and print media. Similarly, the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources provides training to farmers to improve their climate change resilience.
Education and communication
Rwanda’s Ministry of Education, manages the country’s education sector, overseeing both formal education (from pre-primary to higher education and the technical and vocational education and training [TVET] stream) and non-formal education (i.e., adult basic education). The Ministry is also involved in climate change education, and works with the Rwanda Environment Management Authority and other government agencies such as the Curriculum Development Center to integrate climate change and environmental understandings into educational curricula and other formal and informal training formats.
III) Relevant laws, policies, and plans
Climate change
The 2015 amendment to the Constitution of Rwanda (Articles 22 and 53) mandates the government and citizens to protect the environment. The Constitution empowers the Ministry of Environment to establish Ministerial Orders for environmental protection and conservation. Specific Ministerial Orders concerning climate change include:
- Ministerial Order No. 003/16.01 of 2010, which prevents activities that produce chemical atmospheric pollutants. These include the open burning of any substance, such as dark smoke from factories. The only exceptions include fires used for recreational activities, cooking in homes, or agricultural pest control.
- Ministerial Order No. 005/16.01 of 15/07/2010, which lists prohibited contraction plans. Prohibited plans refer to planning construction in environmentally sensitive areas such as floodplains, forests, and open space with exceptions such as irrigation purposes and dams (provided they have Environmental Impact Assessments).
In 2018, the government of Rwanda enacted Law N°48/2018 of 13/08/2018, which mandates the mainstreaming of environment and climate change within development planning processes. The Law also established a committee responsible for conservating, protecting, and promoting environment and climate change in districts, cells, and the capital of Kigali. Importantly, the Law also mandates the government to establish National strategies, plans, and policies on climate change. Article 26 for instance adds:
“The authority in charge of climate change in collaboration with administrative entities and national and international non-governmental organisations must develop, regularly update, publish and make available a national policy on climate change and develop strategies, plan and programs aiming at slowing down the increase of greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing adaptive capacity to the impacts of climate change including research and impact assessment studies. “
– Law N°48/2018 of 13/08/2018, Article 26
One such policy is the National Land Policy (2004), which guides sustainable land management. The policy offers guidance on land-use to mitigate climate change in Rwanda and was crafted to “guarantee a safe and stable form of land tenure and bring about a rational and planned use of land while ensuring sound land management and an efficient land administration” (p.5).
Another critical policy is the National Environment and Climate Change Policy (2019), which provides strategic direction on emerging climate change and environmental challenges. The Policy provides a roadmap for addressing climate change challenges through local initiatives such as public climate change awareness, afforestation, and conservation.
Rwanda has enacted several strategies for fostering climate change actions. A notable example is the Green Growth and Climate Resilience Strategy (2011), which focuses on making Rwanda a climate-resilient and low-carbon economy by 2050. The Strategy’s top priority was establishing an online climate portal devoted to raising awareness of the country’s climate actions to the public and the international community, and to facilitating climate change-related knowledge sharing. The Strategy also plans to educate people in rural areas with limited internet access through community exchange visits, demonstration projects, creative radio programming, and a farmer field school.
At inter-regional level, the East African Community (EAC) developed a climate change policy (EACCCP) in 2009 that aims to implement measures that improve the region’s adaptive capacity and resilience to climate change. In 2014, the EAC also established the East African Climate-smart Agriculture Platform (EACSAP), an initiative that seeks to foster agricultural productivity, adaptation, and resilience to climate change through technological innovation.
Education and communication
Rwanda has developed a range of climate change-related education and communication policies and plans. For instance, the country’s National Curriculum Framework (2015) incorporates climate change education and environmental education.
Additionally, the Rwandan Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP; 2019-2024) emphasizes the implementation of the National Curriculum Framework (2015) and the integration of climate change and environmental education. Rwanda’s ESSP focuses on ensuring that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to mitigate environmental risks that lead to climate change so they can care for the environment responsibly.
While the country does not have a national Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) strategy, the country’s 2010 Environmental Education for Sustainable Development Strategy, uses ACE-related language. The Strategysuggests that the Rwanda Environment Management Agency (REMA) coordinate climate change communication with climate change agencies as well as national and district level governments and organizations. REMA solicits input and consultations from local and national level partners to enhance community participation when it develops climate change education and awareness programs.
Rwanda’s updated Nationally Determined Contributions (2020) indicate that the country aims to increase opportunities to educate Rwandans about climate change, including providing advice on using renewable energy as well as efficient cooking stoves and lights.
IV) Terminology used for climate communication and education
According to the Rwanda Environmental Management Authority, climate change in Rwanda is understood as a change in average weather conditions, or in the time variation of weather within the context of longer-term average conditions.
The terminology used for climate change communication and education in Rwanda is diverse. Most of Rwanda’s climate change-related laws, policies, and plans refer to climate change communication and education in terms of ‘environmental education,’ ‘public awareness,’ and ‘education for sustainable development.’
A definition of climate change education could not be found in any official policy documents. The 2010 Environmental Education for Sustainable Development Strategy (2010-2015; EESD) defines environmental education as “continuous lifelong learning that emphasizes the complexity of environmental issues and calls for the use of different and innovative educational approaches for teaching and learning” (p. 5). The EESD points out that education is vital in promoting Rwanda’s environmental sustainability and the strategy uses terms such as ‘orientation,’ ‘empowerment,’ and ‘training.’ No definition of climate change, mitigation, adaptation, or resilience are provided in the document.
Rwanda’s documents often use terms that resonate with the Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) intentions. For example, in its 3rd National Communication (2018), Rwanda refers to ‘public awareness’ and ‘training’ as tools for assisting the public in mitigating and adapting to climate change. The EESD frequently uses the terms ‘public awareness,’ ‘education,’ ‘training,’ and ‘capacity building.’
Given the inconsistent use of terminology used to refer to climate change communication and education, clarifying, and encouraging consistency of concepts and terminologies is needed to facilitate future interactions and collaborations.
V) Budget for climate communication and education
Rwanda allocates significant financial resources towards education. According to World Bank (2020) data, Rwanda spends 11% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on education. However, it is unclear whether there is any specific budget allocated to climate change communication and education.
The budget for the 2017 Strategic Programme for Climate Resilience allocated US$1 million specifically for training affected communities about climate change activities. In addition, the Green Climate Fund provided US$12.5 million to strengthen community-based adaptation through watershed protection and climate-resilient agriculture, particularly in Rwanda’s Northern Province.
The country’s 2019 Voluntary National Review Report on the Sustainable Development Goals shows that Rwanda’s Environment and Climate Change Fund mobilized about US$172 million for strategic climate resilience investments. However, it is not clear how much of this was allocated to climate change communication and education actions.
In 2018, the Green Climate Fund approved US$32 million for the Ministry of Environment’s Climate Resilience Project. About US$3.5 million of those funds were allocated to climate change knowledge transfer and mainstreaming through building public awareness of climate threats and risks to strengthen resilience at the district level. The country’s Nationally Determined Contributions (2020) state that by 2030, Rwanda plans to spend up to US$6.4 million on educating the population about climate change.
CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN THE COUNTRY
I) Climate change in pre-primary, primary, and secondary education
Article 22 of Rwandan Law N°48/2018 of 13/08/2018 stipulates that, in matters related to education on environmental conservation and climate change, the state shall take “adequate measures aimed at the education on the conservation of the environment and adaptation to the impacts of climate change and integrates the same in schools curricula at all levels” (p.26). The country’s National Environment and Climate Change Policy (2019) also aims to mainstream climate change in primary, secondary, tertiary level education curricula. The mainstreaming of climate change education into the learning materials from primary to secondary is done by the Environment and Climate Change Mainstreaming Group of the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), in collaboration with other institutions such as the Ministry of Education.
In Rwanda, integration of climate change from pre-primary to upper secondary education occurs through the 2015 National Curriculum Framework (NCF). The NCF emphasizes the integration of cross-cutting issues of climate change, environment, and sustainability into the learning materials to develop learners’ “knowledge, skills, attitudes and values for sustainable living“(p.21). The integration of climate change and sustainability into the curriculum focuses on “balancing economic growth, society’s wellbeing, and ecological systems” ( p. 21). The NCF was designed to enable students to become lifelong learners and accommodate future course changes and developments. In addition, the states that environmental and climate issues are included in a range of natural and social science subjects. A description of the types of climate change-related keywords discussed in the curricula may be found in the MECCE Project Monitoring section of this profile.
Climate change content is included mostly in terms of cognitive learning opportunities in the Rwandan Curriculum. An example of climate change integration is seen in the secondary school syllabus, which includes the learning outcome: “With [the] help of [an] economic map and climatic map, [the chapter] guide[s] students [to] establish the relationship between climate and human activities” (p. 16). The Geography Syllabus for secondary school includes the learning outcome: “With [the] help of [an] economic map and climatic map, [the chapter] guide[s] students [to] establish the relationship between climate and human activities” (p. 16).
The 2019-2024 Education Sector Strategic Plan also emphasizes the integration of climate change in the curriculum to develop sustainable skills, knowledge, and values. The Plan states:
“The competence-based curriculum will also ensure that learners acquire adequate understanding and positive implementation strategies in respect of environmental factors affecting climate change. The key focus will be the acquisition of the knowledge and skills necessary to mitigate environmental risks and for environmental responsibility to be taken by all. “
– 2019-2024 Education Sector Strategic Plan, p. 48
Rwanda’s 3rd National Communication (2018) indicates that climate change is integrated in the curriculum in a range of learning areas. It includes action/behavioral components, where Rwandan students’ climate knowledge is expanded via practical learning opportunities afforded by the greening of schools, including the installation of water harvesting systems, solar panels, and biogas. Students also learn practically through participating in initiatives like the ‘one tree per child’ project in primary schools.
II) Climate change in teacher training and teacher resources
The 2010 Environmental Education for Sustainable Development Strategy asserts that one of the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) is responsible for mainstreaming environmental education for sustainable development into technical programs and teacher training colleges’ curriculum. In response to the Strategy, the Rwanda Education Board developed a Teacher Training College Curriculum Framework (2015) in which “environment, climate change and sustainability are integrated to develop teachers’ climate change capacity and knowledge to nurture learners’ skills, knowledge, and attitudes to promote sustainable ways of living” (p. 36).
Rwanda is also a member of the Mainstreaming Environment and Sustainability in African Universities (MESA) partnership programme. MESA supports its network of over 85 participating African universities to mainstream environment and sustainability into teaching, research, community engagement, and management. MESA is a United Nations Environment initiative which was created through the active participation of the Association of African Universities, UNESCO, the United Nations University.
REMA has developed a guidebook to support teachers in incorporating education for sustainable development into schools. The guidebook emphasizes the importance of teacher professional development to provide a foundational understanding of climate change and the environment for educators to build into their own practice. The guidebook further suggests that education for sustainable development be used as a focal point for a learner-centered approach, as part of exchange programs for students and integrated into courses with similar goals.
According to the 3rd National Communication (2018), REMA also provides training on climate change to primary and secondary school teachers and university lecturers. It further states that REMA and the Rwanda Education Board work together to include climate change in teaching materials, teacher training manuals, and other student reference books. NGOs also contribute to climate change initiatives in higher education. For instance, the Albertine Rift Conservation Society (ARCOS) helps to build the capacities of students, parents, and teachers to enhance climate change resilience in schools and surrounding communities.
III) Climate change in higher education
Available information indicates that Rwandan higher education institutions such as universities are embracing climate change and environmental education by integrating them into study courses and materials. The Ministry of Education manages the higher education system with the Higher Education Council (a regulatory agency responsible for monitoring and evaluating the quality and functioning of teaching and research) acting as an advisory body.
Rwanda’s Education Sector Strategic Plan (2018-2024) emphasizes the mainstreaming of climate change and environmental protection in higher education curricula. The Ministry of Education and the Curriculum Development Centre collaborate with the Environment and Climate Change Thematic Working Group of the Rwanda Environmental Management Authority (REMA) to review and develop national higher education curriculum to mainstream climate change. REMA further supports climate change education in higher education by providing laboratory equipment to learning institutions for climate change science activities such as water quality testing.
At the University of Rwanda, courses related to the environment are offered at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. However, the course outlines do not mention climate change and the university’s prospectus mentions climate change only once.
KIM University’s website notes that its Master’s of Business Administration program teaches students to become sustainability managers.
Private higher learning institutions that offer environment-related academic programs include the Independent Institute of Lay Adventists of Kigali, which offers two programs at a bachelor’s and master’s degree levels. Also, Institut Catholique de Kabgayi (ICK) and Protestant Institute of Arts and Social Sciences (PIASS) offer a program each at the bachelor’s level. The PIASS also offers annual trainings on environmental topics for students and the surrounding community.
NGOs also contribute to the development of Rwandan environmental professionals and educators. For example, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International provides training for aspiring young scientists and communities adjacent to the Volcanoes National Park in four northern districts of the country. Rwanda Environment Awareness Services Organization Network is an NGO working to promote environmental awareness in Rwanda’s K-12 schools and higher education institutions, particularly by establishing student environmental clubs.
IV) Climate change in training and adult learning
Although the Rwandan Adult Education Policy (2014) does not mention climate change as part of adult education, it does mention environmental protection and sustainable natural resource management as core learning objectives. For instance, the policy notes that adult education aims to better understand current environmental problems and foster behavioral changes in the population to support governmental environmental protection programs.
The country’s Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Policy is a crucial training tool used by all public TVET colleges, institutes, and polytechnics. The policy includes environmental protection although not as a vital area of focus. In the same vein, the country’s Nationally Determined Contributions (2020) state that the country intends to offer more training on climate change to farmers in environmental conservation practices, among others, to protect the environment.
CLIMATE CHANGE COMMUNICATION IN THE COUNTRY
I) Climate change and public awareness
Rwanda has developed a variety of strategies to enhance climate change awareness in the country’s citizenry. This is mandated by Article 22 of the Law on Environment wich stipulates that “within their capacity, administrative entities, national and international non-governmental organizations must sensitize the population on environmental and climate change issues” (p.26).
The Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) engages with media houses to enhance accurate coverage of topical environmental issues and climate change in news, programs, and documentaries. However, the Voluntary National Review (2019) reports that media penetration to the public in Rwanda is low at 66%. The report further indicates that the media requires capacity building to enhance journalists’ professionalism. The review also mentions that media sector lacks profitability, which negatively affects the ability of the media to report on climate change.
The Environment Education for Sustainable Development Strategy (2010) notes that REMA facilitates outreach activities for environmental awareness-raising and networking, including developing materials for different stakeholders, including community-based organizations and the public.
Between 2018 and 2020, the country piloted the Standardized Credit Framework (SCF), a World Bank initiative that rewards individuals and communities with financial benefits for conserving the environment to boost climate change awareness and mitigation efforts. The Initiative is not widely implemented, as the pilot is still in the reporting stage; however, a report on the pilot notes several considerations for full implementation such as the types of technical, infrastructural, governance, and legal arrangements that would be required.
According to the country’s 3rd National Communication (2018), Rwanda engages in broad public awareness and sensitization on the environment and climate change through field tours, training workshops, and mobilizing public schools. In addition, the government engages civil society, NGOs, and private sector actors to get involved in critical activities such as creating awareness materials and training modules and organizing competitions.
II) Climate change and public access to information
In Rwanda, public access to climate change information is ensured in several ways, including through Article 24(1-3) of Law N°48/2018 of 13/08/2018 on Environment which mandates that Rwandan authorities in charge of climate change must “develop, regularly update, publish and make available” national greenhouse gas emission inventories, climate change mitigation measures, and climate change vulnerability assessments and programs (p.27-28).
The National Environment and Climate Change Policy (2019) aims to integrate messaging about climate change into existing health education and media outreach efforts. The Policy’s strategy for mainstreaming climate change information also includes incorporating environmental dimensions in “results-based culture (Imihigo)” (p. 34). Imihigo is a cultural practice in Rwanda, meaning “to vow to deliver”.
The Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) has an online climate change portal where the public can access climate change regulations and policies, projects, local initiatives, and other resources (including financial) to support public involvement in climate change actions. This initiative is funded by the Ministry of Environment and online content is written by REMA in collaboration with other agencies such as the National Meteorology Agency and the Ministry of Education.
The Rwanda Meteorology Agency provides climate updates and daily weather information and early warnings (e.g., about severe weather and national disasters). The agency also collaborates with the Ministry of Infrastructure to disseminate climate change information through the mass media, such as radio and print media. In a related effort, the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources provides climate change information to Rwandan farmers to build climate change resilience.
The use of social media is gaining momentum in Rwanda, even in government agencies. Many government agencies, such as REMA, use social media, including Twitter and Facebook, to provide information about weather and climate change warnings, existing climate initiatives, and opportunities to participate in climate change online training and information webinars.
However, according to Rwanda’s Voluntary National Review Report (2019), while 96.6% of the nation’s population has access to 3G and 4G technology, only 50% subscribes to the internet, which has implications for the public’s ability to access information about climate change. As the World Bank suggests, for Rwanda to improve adoption and uptake of digital technology, it will need to remove the barriers for digital uptake and increase affordability of digital devices and services. Rwanda is currently working to extend broadband networks and other internet infrastructure to provide universal access to internet. For instance, the Rwanda Education Committee has planned to invest US$ 5 million to provide internet to 100% of Rwandan Schools by 2024.
III) Climate change and public participation
According to the 2010 Environmental Education for Sustainable Development Strategy, Rwanda ensures public participation in climate change actions through informal education programs and activities, using a different definition of public participation than usual in UNFCCC definitions. For example, the Ministry of Environment organizes information days and community training programs hosted by district committees.
Non-governmental organizations also play a vital role in engaging communities to participate in climate change action. An example is the Albertine Rift Conservation Society (ARCOS), which involves parents and teachers to enhance climate change resilience in schools and surrounding communities. The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International also engages communities in environmental education; their activities include supporting young scientists conducting conservation research in the country.
The 3rd National Communication (2018) states that the public participates in field tours, public lectures, competitions, workshops, and public debates. This is primarily to get people to embrace national policies on climate change and the environment, such as the Green Growth and Climate Resilience Strategy (2011).
The Sustainable Development Goals Voluntary National Review Report (2019) recommends that national agencies conduct technical consultations with stakeholders and sector working groups on climate change issues. The report also recommends that districts coordinate local support and citizen participation in climate actions through engagement forums. Local coordination efforts include ‘umuganda’ (translated as ‘coming together for a common purpose’). This is a national holiday that occurs every month-end Saturday where at least every family is represented to participate in community work for two hours. Communities also participate in environment and climate change mitigation activities such as rehabilitating wetlands.
MONITORING AND EVALUATION
I) Country monitoring
The Ministry of Environment chairs the Environment and Natural Resources Sector Working Group, which oversees Rwanda’s environment and climate activities, including climate education and communication. The Ministry is also responsible for monitoring and evaluating climate change priorities and supporting their implementation, including monitoring, evaluation, and progress reporting on sub-sector priorities. The Rwanda National Environment and Climate Change Policy (2019) also states that different actors have a responsibility to “develop monitoring tools for efficient monitoring of progress towards compatible development”(p.36). This includes the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, the Rwanda Water and Forestry Authority, and the Meteorology Agency.
The Rwanda Green Fund also conducts climate change monitoring initiatives such as air quality monitoring through training, data collecting, and processing. The data are provided to regulators to inform decision-making and climate modelers to support climate change consequence modeling.
In 2018, Rwanda conducted a climate vulnerability assessment in 30 districts using an index to assess the country’s household vulnerability to climate change. The assessment found that most geographic regions of Rwanda are becoming more vulnerable to climate change and that all sectors are vulnerable. The report suggests vulnerability reduction measures for local districts, including two to three priority sectors to target. The report also suggests employing multi-sector stakeholder learning to build adaptive capacities and reduce vulnerability to climate change. In addition, the report recommends using community-based adaptation planning to improve climate education for vulnerable communities and households. This would enable bottom-up flow of information, and support more effective district-level priority-setting.
Rwanda’s Education Sector Strategic Plan (2018-2024) outlines the government’s plan for monitoring the education sector to ensure that cross-cutting issues of climate change and environment and sustainability are mainstreamed in all teaching at all education levels in schools. The monitoring is mainly planned through assessment of student learning which can be done through a conversation between a teacher and a student or through formal tests. For instance, the Ministry of Education since 2011 started issuing end of year standardized exams to primary and secondary schools to help the government rank schools and identify gaps in the education system, which allows support to be provided to schools in need of assistance.
The Nationally Determined Contributions (2020) state that Rwanda has developed a Measuring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) tool for monitoring adaptation activities such as climate financing, mitigation measures, and reporting. The MRV Framework helps facilitate planning and reporting at the national, sectoral, and local levels as required by the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. The MRV Framework is also used to report at an international level to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in alignment with UNFCCC reporting standards. The institutional framework for tracking Rwanda’s MRV implementation shows strong collaboration between national agencies and grassroots organizations, including higher learning institutions, local districts, and non-government organizations.
II) MECCE Project Monitoring
The Monitoring and Evaluating Climate Communication and Education (MECCE) Project examined National Curriculum Framework (NCF; 2015) the country’s National Curriculum Framework (NCF), and Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESP; 2019-2024) for references to climate change, sustainability, biodiversity, and the environment.
The Framework and Plan mention the environment, climate change, and sustainability in schools. They also encourage sustainable skills, knowledge, and values by learners.
In the National Curriculum Framework, ‘climate change’ is referenced 8 times, whereas the ‘environment’ is referenced 112 times, ‘sustainability’ is mentioned 13 times, and ‘biodiversity’ is mentioned twice.
The Education Sector Strategic Plan mentions ‘climate change’ 4 times, ‘sustainability’ 16 times, ‘environment’ 10 times, and does not reference ‘biodiversity.’
This section will be updated as the MECCE Project develops.
This profile was reviewed by:
America Bendito, Independent Consultant. Retired professor
