Remarks by Dr Vincent Biruta, Minister of Natural Resources at 42nd Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook Forum

Hon. Min. Dr. Vincent Biruta of Rwanda Natural Resources

 Republic of Rwanda

Ministry of Natural Resources

Remarks by Dr Vincent Biruta, Minister of Natural Resources

42^nd Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook Forum

22 February 2016 | Kigali, Rwanda

–     The UNDP Rwanda Country Representative

–     The Permanent Representatives of the Greater Horn of Africa countries of the World Meteorological Organisation

–     The Representative of the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre

–     Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen

Good morning to you all. I am pleased to welcome you to the Forty Second Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook Forum and I would like to extend a special welcome to those who are visiting Rwanda for the first time. I hope you enjoy your stay in the country.

Today we come together from across the Greater Horn of Africa to assess the impact of last year’s El Niño event and to put together a regional climate outlook for the March to May 2016 rainfall season. We will also develop plans and strategies so we are well prepared for a range of different climate events. These are important tasks for a number of reasons.

The countries in our region are highly dependent on rainfall and so are vulnerable to climate variability. With climate change causing more extreme weather events, such as droughts and floods, we need to be better prepared and more coordinated in how we deal with the impacts of a changing climate. Food security, agriculture, water and sanitation, power generation and our natural heritage all depend on it.

This is why we need to get better at not only predicting the weather and changes in the climate, but also at being ready to adapt to them and, when needed, provide early warnings to those in need.

This work is about shoring up our development gains and building a strong, climate resilient foundation from which to grow and meet the aspirations of our people.

By 2050, Rwanda aims to be a developed, climate-resilient and low carbon economy. To achieve this, we have put in place a number of policy and institutional frameworks. Our national vision incorporates climate change, our Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy puts environment and green growth at the centre of development and our Green Growth and Climate Resilience Strategy includes 14 distinct programmes of action to ensure we meet our goals. In addition, Rwanda’s Green Fund has mobilised 100 million dollars and is already investing in 30 transformative climate resilience initiatives across the country.

But we know that we cannot get there alone. Rwanda, like other nations in the Greater Horn of Africa, is striving for deeper integration with its neighbours. With greater integration comes greater dependency. This is a good thing and we should not shy away from it. Instead, we need to work more closely with one another, plan more carefully and better coordinate our mitigation and adaptation responses. If we do this together, I have no doubt that we can weather any storm that comes our way.

With so many experts from different backgrounds here today, I encourage you to use your collective skills, knowledge and experience to produce a regional climate outlook that can inform policy makers in various sectors across the region.

I would like to conclude by thanking the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre, Rwanda Meteorology Agency, the World Meteorological Organisation and other partners for organising this forum. I would also like to thank the United Nations Development Programme and USAID for supporting the forum.

Once again, thank you for being here today. I wish you fruitful discussions and look forward to exchanging ideas throughout the day.

On this note, it gives me great pleasure to declare the Forty Second Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook Forum officially open.

Thank you.