Dr. Bernadette Arakwiye is the Minister of Environment of the Republic of Rwanda since 24th July 2025. Before her appointment, she served as Senior Manager for Africa Restoration Programs at the World Resources Institute (WRI). In that role, she mobilized resources for restoration projects, supervised a team of experts across seven African countries, and oversaw WRI’s restoration portfolio, which is built around four interconnected actions: invest in both the capacity of local actors and the capital needed to scale restoration; enable partners, governments, and communities to design and implement effective restoration initiatives; monitor progress through data, technology, and transparent reporting; and motivate stakeholders by sharing success stories, demonstrating impact, and fostering collaboration.
In her earlier experience, she held various research-focused positions on African landscapes, including serving as a Research Associate at WRI, where she led restoration monitoring work in Africa; as a Research Associate at Conservation International in the United States, where she generated and analyzed ecosystem services data; and as a Biodiversity Researcher at the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International in Rwanda.
Dr. Arakwiye has contributed to building the capacity of professionals and graduate students, particularly in restoration monitoring and the use of Earth observation technologies to assess environmental change. She also served on advisory boards for regional and international restoration initiatives.
Dr. Arakwiye is passionate about fostering intersectoral partnerships, mobilizing resources, and advancing data-driven approaches that address pressing environmental challenges in a sustainable way while also driving inclusive economic growth.
Dr. Bernadette Arakwiye holds a Ph.D. in Geography from Clark University in Massachusetts, where she received the NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship for her research on forest cover change in Western Rwanda. She earned her Master’s degree in Environmental Studies from Antioch University New England and her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Rwanda.