COMBIO- Biodiversity in the Eastern Province

Overarching results. - More than 60,000 native tree seedlings produced inside COMBIO project nurseries have been distributed to partners and this has significantly increased the number of native tree species not only in Eastern Province but also in Kigali and Southern Province. - The seedlings survival rate has significantly improved now at 97% one month after planting. This is largely due to the use of well propagated seedlings, proper nursery management, and the application of sound silvicultural techniques during establishment. The project's efforts for site species matching, correct planting methods, and timely post planting follow-up further supported the successful establishment of 103,841 out of 107,715 seedlings, with only minimal early losses recorded. - 28,213 jobs have been created by the project in 2024. The jobs created are restoration related and are predominantly casual and temporary. Of the total jobs created, 124 are permanent jobs (employment that exceeds 12 months), 843 temporary (employment that doesn't exceed 12 months) and the remaining 27,074 are casual. 56% are male and 44% are female, where 23% are youth. - Additional new native trees species have been identified by the project for the first time in Rwanda. Specifically, during FY2024, 17 native tree species were identified for the first time in Rwanda. These include among others, Senegalia senegal var. rostrata, Vachellia seyal, Pericopsis angolensis, Anthocleista vogelii, Gatsi, Trichilia emetica, Kigelia africana, Ficus (species unidentified), Diospyros abyssinica, Alchornea floribunda, Rytigynia well as Schrebera trichoclada. None of these were recorded before in Rwanda's national flora inventory. - A total of 117,745.5 Hectares of predetermined landscapes have been restored. These include new established biodiversity sanctas, crop lands, roadsides, riverbanks, lake shores, and degraded forests. This brings the restored area in comparison to the overall project target to 94.3%.

The main objective of the contribution is to contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation of ecosystems and population in the Eastern Province of Rwanda through enhanced community based biodiversity restoration and conservation over the protected and productive landscapes, while contributing to the green economy development. The key outcome objectives are Outcome 1: Restored, enhanced, and protected biodiversity for increased climate resilience in productive and protective landscapes Through the outcome, the project will restore and enhance biodiversity with the integration of 20 tree/shrubs species over 12.700 ha of productive and protective landscapes distributed across the Eastern Province, extending the geographic distribution of biodiversity supportive areas and enhancing biodiversity connectivity over the different productive and protected ecosystems. Outcome 2: Improved livelihood of community through biodiversity-based enterprises and developed value chains This outcome focuses on enhancing the role of biodiversity conservation in improving the livelihoods of communities in the project area by developing biodiversity-based enterprises and value chains that build on restored ecosystems and developed community biodiversity sancta from outcome 1 Outcome 3: Strengthened and coordinated community-based knowledge and National monitoring systems for biodiversity conservation under this outcome, the project aims to develop community-based management and monitoring frameworks by supporting mainstreaming biodiversity conservation in institutional and community development strategies, programs and action plans