Rwanda’s highly biodiverse ecosystems continue to face threats such as deforestation, illegal logging, and poaching. Challenges in the enforcement of environmental laws, particularly in issuing and collecting fines from offenders, have exacerbated these pressures and limited Rwanda’s domestic funding for conservation initiatives.
The Government of Rwanda, with support from the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), launched IremboPay, a digital platform designed to register environmental offences, instantly issue fines, and automatically channel fine revenues to the Rwanda Green Fund.
As of May 2025, US$130,000 in environmental fines were processed through IremboPay since its launch in October 2024. These funds are reinvested in reforestation, wetland restoration, environmental education, and other conservation initiatives.
Context
Rwanda hosts a variety of ecosystems with high biodiversity. However, poaching, deforestation, illegal logging, and other threats have contributed to biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation in the country.
Ineffective enforcement of environmental laws contributed to the persistence of these pressures. Rwanda used a paper-based system for environmental fines, in which inspectors issued paper notifications that were difficult to track. Even when fines were paid, bank transfers often lacked the details needed to link payments to specific offences, reducing the system’s transparency and accountability. These issues made it challenging to penalize environmental offenders and generate domestic funds for conservation effectively.
Between 2011 and 2017, external funding accounted for 40% to 70% of Rwanda’s annual biodiversity expenditure, according to BIOFIN’s review. These funds are usually less sustainable and predictable than domestic sources, hindering long-term conservation efforts.
Process
IremboPay is a digital innovation platform developed to enhance the collection of environmental fines in Rwanda. By allowing inspectors to instantly issue fines and recording key data, the platform strengthens traceability, accountability, and transparency in environmental fine collection. Fine revenues are directly transferred to the Rwanda Green Fund, ensuring that these resources are channelled into conservation initiatives. In addition, communication campaigns and the enhancement of regular inspections help raise awareness of environmental laws, identify offenders, and promote the effective use of IremboPay.
Developing an innovative digital platform to effectively collect environmental fines
BIOIFN supported the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) in launching IremboPay, an innovative digital platform for collecting environmental fines through which inspectors can register an offence and automatically issue a fee. Offenders can pay immediately using their mobile phones, helping to increase payment rates.
IremboPay records data such as payment status, amount, and date, and generates an invoice number and transaction ID. REMA can monitor this information through a dashboard with real-time updates, ensuring traceability, accountability, and transparency.
The development of IremboPay involved a comprehensive system design phase. Proposed system designs were submitted to REMA and to the Rwanda Green Fund (FONERWA). Then, a technical workshop with relevant stakeholders enabled the joint review of systems, identification of improvements, and creation of a list of environmental fines to be included in the platform.
After that, REMA and police staff were trained on how to use IremboPay. During the field test, 37 invoices were created through the system, with 14 paid immediately and 23 afterwards. IremboPay has been fully operational since October 2024.
Enabling factors
- Strong interest from all relevant stakeholders in improving the fee collection system through digital innovation.
- Partnership with Irembo, a company that develops digital products for service delivery and payment solutions.
- Availability of funding to support the development of the platform.
Lessons learned
- Digital innovation can significantly improve environmental outcomes and has important applications in the biodiversity conservation sector, with considerable potential for further expansion.
- Pilot phases are essential to test platforms before full implementation, allowing for adjustments and preventing issues that may hinder public support for the platform.
- Innovative financial mechanisms can enhance domestic resource mobilization, reducing dependence on foreign support.
Resources
Channeling collected fines to the Rwanda Green Fund for conservation measures
In addition to improving fine collection, IremboPay ensures that fine revenues are directly transferred to the Rwanda Green Fund. This prevents the fragmentation of financial resources across multiple accounts and guarantees their use for conservation measures.
Therefore, this approach unlocks a sustainable source of financing for biodiversity and strengthens public support for environmental law enforcement by linking fine revenues to tangible actions, including reforestation, wetland restoration, environmental education programmes, and other conservation initiatives financed by the Rwanda Green Fund.
Enabling factors
- Political willingness to transfer collected fines to the Rwanda Green Fund.
- Existence of the Rwanda Green Fund with clearly defined purposes and objectives.
- Development of a functionality within the IremboPay platform to enable the transfer of collected fines to the Rwanda Green Fund.
Lesson learned
- Explicitly linking fine revenues to their use for conservation and restoration initiatives help increase public support for fine collection and compliance with environmental laws, fostering a culture of ecological responsibility.
Raising awareness and improving enforcement of environmental laws
Social media campaigns to increase public awareness of and compliance with environmental laws were organized prior to the launch of IremboPay, including:
- Explaining the law governing biological diversity (N° 064/2021 of 14/10/2021).
- With the theme “Investing in Our Planet”, associated with the celebration of the World Earth Day in 2022.
- With the theme “Building a shared future for all life”, associated with the celebration of the International Biodiversity Day in 2022.
Furthermore, the Rwanda Environment Management Authority and the national police intensified regular inspections to assess businesses and activities that could be harming biodiversity, ensuring that offenders are identified and fined, while also fostering awareness of and compliance with environmental laws.
Enabling factors
- Availability of funding and a dedicated team for communication campaigns.
- Partnership between the Rwanda Environment Management Authority's inspection team and the national police to strengthen inspections, supported by sufficient personnel and funding.
Lesson learned
- While digital tools can enhance governance outcomes, their development alone is not sufficient to achieve desired results. Combining the development of IremboPay with regular inspections is crucial to ensure the platform is effectively used.
Impacts
As of May 2025, USD 130,000 in environmental fines were processed through IremboPay since its launch in October 2024. Fine revenues are automatically transferred to the Rwanda Green Fund, being reinvested in conservation initiatives including reforestation, wetland restoration, and environmental education.
IremboPay has also facilitated data tracking and the generation of reports with key insights, enabling a clear understanding of the amounts collected through environmental fines and supporting evidence-based decision-making.
As an ongoing initiative, current efforts are focused on expanding training sessions for public servants on the use of IremboPay.
Lastly, parallel efforts have enhanced the allocation of additional financial resources to the Rwanda Green Fund beyond environmental fine revenues collected through IremboPay, including the development of a biodiversity window to mobilize domestic and international resources for conservation initiatives. As a result, fine revenues collected through IremboPay are combined with funding from other sources, enabling even larger investments in biodiversity.
Beneficiaries
The whole population benefits from enhanced institutional capacity, environmental fine collection, and biodiversity conservation.
IremboPay directly supports the work of the Rwanda Environment Management Authority.
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