Surroundings in Burundi

There is no single central national service for the residential and everyday environment in Burundi. Responsibilities are shared among, among others, the Ministry of Environment and the Burundian Office for Environmental Protection (Office Burundais pour la Protection de l’Environnement (OBPE)), the urban planning and construction body (OBUHA), the urban water and electricity utility (REGIDESO), the rural water and sanitation body (AHAMR), the hydrometeorological service (IGEBU), and municipalities and local communities. Terms relating to the living environment, sanitation, public cleanliness, green spaces, rainwater and wastewater describe common areas of responsibility. Access to water and sanitation remains highly unequal. According to the indicators reported for 2023, 62.4 percent of the population had access to improved water within no more than 30 minutes; the figure was 90.7 percent in cities and 57.7 percent in rural areas. Basic sanitation was available to 45.7 percent, while only 6.3 percent had access to basic hygiene. REGIDESO mainly supplies urban connections, while rural water points, community facilities, AHAMR, and government and nongovernmental projects provide other options. Availability, quality and continuity depend on the neighborhood, municipality and province. Electricity and clean cooking fuels are also available only to a limited extent. Electricity access stood at 5.9 percent in 2024, while access to clean cooking options was 3.9 percent. Programmes such as ASCENT are intended to rehabilitate networks, expand medium-voltage lines and enable private participation in peri-urban and rural areas. The planned impact covers up to 2,400,000 people, 1,200 public facilities and 6,000 small and medium-sized enterprises or industrial businesses. Wastewater, rainwater and waste directly affect health and safety. The wastewater network is limited, and continuous secured treatment has not been established. For regulated discharges, a discharge permit with sampling at least every six months may be required. Uncontrolled dumping, including the expanding landfill in the floodplain of the Mutimbuzi, places pressure on waterways and settlements. The import, manufacture, sale and use of plastic bags and plastic sacks have been prohibited under Decree No. 100/099 of 2018; collection, treatment and disposal nevertheless function very differently depending on the area. Burundi has Lake Tanganyika, rivers, groundwater, rainwater and wetlands. In Bujumbura, the central water intake supplies approximately 90 percent of the city’s drinking water, but it is vulnerable to siltation and flooding. Household wastewater, industrial discharges and illegal connections can pollute receiving waters. The water quality standards in Ordinance No. 770/468 are among the instruments used for assessment. Noise and air quality are likewise subject to local and infrastructure conditions. The Environmental Law in its amended 2021 version prohibits health-endangering or excessive neighborhood noise, vibrations and odors; local administration can intervene after a formal notice (mise en demeure). A published national decibel table for residential, industrial and commercial areas could not be found in the research. For air quality, household solid fuels, open burning, traffic and industry are relevant sources of pollution, but a reliable public monitoring series for fine particulate matter in Burundian cities has not been confirmed. Green spaces and vegetated riverbanks can improve quality of life and reduce flood risks. OBPE records green spaces and safeguard zones; documented activities include tree planting, agroforestry, bamboo along riverbanks and community maintenance. A complete national register of public green spaces is not available. Protected areas and nature as a separate topic belong in another subject area unless the focus is the function of green and water areas in the residential environment. The greatest spatial safety risk in the areas examined comes from hydrometeorological hazards. Bujumbura and Gatumba are particularly exposed to lake, river and heavy-rainfall flooding, erosion and landslides. The 2024 floods directly affected more than 200,000 people. Weak drainage, construction in vulnerable areas and exposed water-intake or treatment facilities increase the consequences. The URP or IBISAGARA BIRAMA programme is intended, among other things, to promote drainage, dredging, bank and lake protection, green and technical protective measures, early warning and risk-aware land use; this does not guarantee comprehensive warning coverage. Urban development is further changing the environment. Bujumbura’s built-up area covers approximately 86 square kilometers and has grown by an average of 1.4 percent per year since 1985. Settlements are expanding into fertile valleys and onto hillsides. A 2018 urban development plan projected a population of four million by 2045, but in the project assessment reviewed it had not yet been implemented comprehensively. A current, complete combination of a land-use plan and cadastre has not been established; territorial and municipal reforms in 2025 create additional transitional uncertainty. Participation takes place formally through environmental and social impact assessments, public consultations and registers of affected people, including in OBUHA and World Bank projects. Informal and community-based channels include community works (travaux communautaires), waste and sanitation campaigns, tree planting and riverbank maintenance. OBPE publishes a channel for public complaints and reports. Access, costs and processing times depend on the location, project and responsible body; there is no uniform nationwide service with guaranteed supply.