Rwanda, the “Land of a Thousand Hills,” is rapidly becoming the continent’s beacon for green jobs and sustainable development. In a world where the race for economic growth often leaves nature behind, Rwanda is charting a different course—one where prosperity and environmental stewardship go hand in hand. Guiding this transformation is the country’s partnership with the World Bank Group through its Global Program on Sustainability (GPS), a collaboration that is helping Rwanda turn this ambitious vision into reality.
A Vision Rooted in Sustainability
Rwanda’s commitment to sustainability is being woven into its national strategy. The National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) and the National Land Use Development Master Plan (NLUMP) reflect a deep understanding that economic progress must be balanced with environmental stewardship. Recognizing that true wealth lies not just in GDP but in the health of its forests, rivers, and soils – resources that disproportionately underpin rural livelihoods – Rwanda has embraced natural capital accounting (NCA) as a tool to guide its development.
GPS has been instrumental in supporting Rwanda’s efforts to mainstream NCA, a way to track the value and condition of natural assets, into national planning. The partnership began with the WAVES (Wealth Accounting and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services) initiative, which laid the groundwork for integrating natural resources into economic accounts. Today, GPS is helping Rwanda expand this work, applying a sustainability lens to decision-making across government and the private sector.
From Data to Action: Successes on the Ground
Rwanda’s collaboration with GPS is not just about numbers—it’s about impact. The country’s first land accounts, launched in 2018, marked a milestone. Finally, policymakers had a clear picture of how land use was changing, showing a notable shift from forest cover to cropland over recent decades. These insights are now shaping the NLUMP, ensuring that rapid development does not come at the expense of Rwanda’s future potential.
Water accounts, another GPS-supported achievement, are helping Rwanda tackle one of its most pressing challenges: water efficiency. The country is making strides in improving water use across sectors, with GPS data informing national reporting on Sustainable Development Goal 6.4 (which tracks water-use efficiency). The accounts provide a clear picture of water stress, erosion risks, and sectoral water use, useful for both national planning and local action.
Perhaps most exciting is Rwanda’s move into ecosystem accounting. By measuring water yield, sedimentation, and carbon sequestration, the country is gaining a deeper understanding of the services its landscapes provide. These accounts are being used to inform flagship projects like the Volcanoes Community Resilience Project, where NCA data is helping diversify local livelihoods and improve landscape and watershed management. It has also guided nature-based solutions in the Rwanda Second Urban Development Project that includes rehabilitation of five urban wetlands in Kigali to reduce costly flooding. This is happening alongside Rwanda’s Sustainable Landscape Management Investment Framework. This national level initiative addresses existing policy, institutional and investment challenges and is a guiding mechanism to mobilize, streamline and scale sustainable landscape management investments. Together, these measures demonstrate that cities benefit from, and thrive, alongside nature.
Building Institutions, Building Leaders
Rwanda’s success is not just technical—it’s institutional. The appointment of a State Minister for Economic Planning as the focal point for NCA signals high-level political commitment. The National Institute of Statistics and the University of Rwanda are embedding NCA into their work and curricula, training the next generation of economists and planners to think beyond traditional metrics. The Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning are working hand in hand, ensuring that sustainability is at the core of Rwanda’s economic development.
