30th January 2022: Water experts from public institutions gathered in Rwanda for a five-day capacity-building training on landslides and slope stability analysis.

This training was hosted by the Rwanda Water Resources Board (RWB) in collaboration with the University of Parma (UNIPR) in Italy as part of the Enrhed Erasmus project and took place from January 23rd to 27th, 2023.

Its aim was to increase knowledge of hydrogeological hazards while also scaling up the capability of tackling slope stability problems.

The Government of Rwanda through RWB continues to develop many projects to address problems affecting the country's water resources, with erosion and landslides among the most critical to deal with.

EVENT BACKGROUND

This training followed the one-week 'Summer School 2022' on 'Landslide Analysis and Slope Stability in Rwanda' held last year by IPRC Musanze in collaboration with the University of Parma (UNIPR) and the Rwanda Water Resources Board (RWB).

This educational course, which took place from July 12th to 14th, 2022, included theoretical lessons and practical exercises for 60 water engineers using appropriate numerical codes designed specifically for slope stability analyses.

"We are facing more threats than ever before from increased climate change and variability, with heavy and intense rainfall triggering floods and landslides more frequently, leaving us unprepared in some areas,"

“Flood and landslide-prone areas occupy a big share of the national territory, posing a threat to human security and the country's prosperity,” remarked Dr. Emmanuel Rukundo, RWB’s DG.

As a result of the training, RWB and Rwanda Polytechnic signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding the establishment of a substantive collaboration to build knowledge, skills and capacity within the water sector.

More photos of the one-week 'Summer School' held in July 2022.