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The priority areas identified under the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS) were, inter alia, sustainable management of the natural environment

The investment regime, governed by Law No. 26/2005 on Investment and Export Promotion and Facilitation, identified ten priority sectors, including energy; fishing, and forestry; and waste recycling

The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) was established to facilitate new investment and fast tracking economic development by enabling private-sector growth through the collaboration with various Government agencies, including the Environmental Impact Assessment Unit of the Rwanda Environmental Management Authority

Some goods and services are exempted from VAT, including water supply services supplying clean water and sewage treatment services to protect environment for non-profit as well as energy supplies of energy saving bulbs, solar water heaters, wind energy and equipment used in the supply of biogas energy

In accordance with the Prime Minister’s Order No. 26/03 of 23 October 2008, imports of certain chemicals and pollutants are prohibited, while Law No. 57/2008 of 10 September 2008 prohibits importation of polythene bags, although, in exceptional cases, any person needing to manufacture, use, import, and sell polythene bags may apply and obtain written authorization from the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA)

Permission from the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) is required to import, inter alia, ozone-layer-depleting substances, and products and equipment containing such substances (Ministerial Order No. 006/2008), while relevant legislation on import restrictions includes the Organic Law No.04/2005 of 8 April 2005 determining the modalities of protection, conservation, and promotion of the environment; the Ministerial Order No.007/2008 of 15 August 2008 establishing the list of protected animal and plant species; the Ministerial Order No.003/16.01 of 15 July 2010 preventing activities that pollute the atmosphere; and the Ministerial Order No.004/16.01 of 15 July 2010 governing the importation and exportation of wild animals

Technical regulations may be developed and administered by the ministries responsible for instance for environment and a number of regulatory bodies such as the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), for projects and products that may cause environmental degradation, while under the Rwanda Bureau of Standards (RBS) Instruction No. 01/2004 imports of selected products and materials of high risk to consumers and the environment require a batch certificate from the RBS, attesting that a particular consignment or shipment conforms to the specified Rwanda standards, or international or foreign standard recognized by the RBS

In the context of environmental protection, Rwanda has ratified a number of conventions, including the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol; the Convention to Combat Desertification; the Convention on Biodiversity, and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety; the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer; the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants; the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure; the Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal; the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands; and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

Special economic zones (SEZs) users must submit a business plan, architectural designs based on a SEZ design, and an environmental impact assessment report, while some economic activities, such as the manufacturing and sale of chemicals and other prohibited pollutants and manufacturing and sale of ozone layer depleting substances and equipment containing such substances, are not permitted in a SEZ

Under Article 289 of the Law, the protection of discovery of plants, genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folklore is to be granted by a related special law, which is under preparation