Consolidation and upgrading of education and research within water resources, environment and health science and engineering at the National University of Rwanda

Sector

Regional natural resource-based development

Project budget

The maximum budget for this project is € 500,000.

Organisations

This project has been developed by the National University of Rwanda (NUR). The tender for this project expired on 20 May 2011. Nuffic has awarded this tender to UNESCO-IHE, which has formed a consortium with the University of Zimbabwe.

Project description

NUR's Faculty of Applied Sciences has built a solid foundation through NPT project RWA/051-WREM. With this NICHE project, it wants to develop programmes and graduates that meet the needs of the population and the economy.

The will contribute to improved natural resources management in Rwanda, by building capacity and stimulating solution-oriented research at NUR.

The project will:

• help NUR establish and further develop a School of Civil, Environmental and Health Engineering, which meets national and regional needs;
• strengthen the research capacity of the School’s Inter-Disciplinary Research Unit, in line with NUR's research policy;
• empower female staff and students to participate in the School’s activities.

Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa, with 85% of the population depending on agriculture. The country is rapidly developing and needs more energy, water, health care and infrastructure. This puts pressure on the environment. About 86% of Rwanda's energy comes from biomass, but hydropower has a lot of potential thanks to the mountainous terrain and a dense hydrological network. 

A water-stress country

Rwanda is a "water-stress country" with about 90% of its territory located in the Nile Basin. According to recent reports, one in ten children in Rwanda die before the age of five, mostly of diarrhea. This is caused by a lack of access to improved water and sanitation services.

Better access to water and sanitation

The government wants to increase access to improved water and sanitation services from respectively 73% and 45% to:

• 85% and 65% in 2012 
• 100% and 85% in 2020

To achieve these targets Rwanda needs a lot more specialists in the field of water, environmental and health and more academic programmes to train these specialists. This project will contribute to these targets.