KIGALI, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda kicked off its National Environment Week on Saturday with a focus on community terracing activities aimed at curbing soil erosion, promoting sustainable agriculture and conserving the environment in the southern part of the country.
Hundreds of residents from Ruhango and Nyamagabe districts in the south, along with those from Karongi District in the west, participated in the terracing of large tracts of farmland.
Addressing participants at the confluence of the three districts, Rwandan Minister of Environment Jeanne d'Arc Mujawamariya emphasized the importance of controlling soil erosion to prevent land degradation.
She underscored the need for collective efforts to restore degraded land, noting that unsustainable agriculture, deforestation and mining are the main causes of soil erosion.
According to officials, conservation activities to restore degraded land in different parts of the country will be done through the week ahead of World Environment Day, which falls on June 5. ■