project_page_thumbnail_mountelgon_uganda_itf

Project_Page_Thumbnail_MountElgon_Uganda_ITF

Cordia abyssinica

Maeopsis eminii

Olea Africana

Markhamia lutea

Croton macrostachyus

Bischofia javanica

Croton megalocarpus

Vitex keniensis

Bridelia micrantha

Trichilia emetica

Pligia unigicata

Antiaris toxicaria

Prunus Africana

Olea welwitschia

Polyscias kikuyuensis

While the vast majority of the blame for climate change can be attributed to our over-reliance on fossil fuels, massive deforestation in  the 20th and 21st centuries has diminished one of our planet’s best tools for absorbing carbon. Our forests are natural buffers against some of the worst effects of climate change, buffers that can be preserved through action on the ground.
The greater Masira sub-county that borders Mount Elgon national park has a population density of about 272 people per square kilometre, with an annual growth of 4.9%. This has increased the deforestation rate by increasing the need for firewood and agricultural land to feed the growing population. As a result, pressure has been exerted on the national park and has increased conflict between the community and management of the national park.
The area is susceptible to extreme impacts of high temperatures and long droughts, unreliable rainfall characterised by erratic rains leading to landslides, and subsequently loss of life and property. 
The households in the project area depend on the national park for natural resources like firewood, ropes, pole wood, vegetables, bamboo shoots, bamboo stems, crop stakes and grazing. Farmers still use rudimentary and inefficient three stone cook stoves which consume large amounts of fuel wood. Farmers are also practising unsustainable agricultural practices. This has increased land degradation and reduced crop yields. Forage for beekeepers is also limited in the area because of the high degradation rate.
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<h2>Planting Partner</h2>
The <a href="https://www.internationaltreefoundation.org/">International Tree Foundation</a> (ITF) was founded in 1922, in Kenya, and has been operating to restore and conserve forests, and promote cultures of forest stewardship ever since. Community consultation, engagement and leadership is the bedrock of ITF&#8217;s approach. Key to ITF’s operation is their commitment to and support of capacity-building within local communities to optimise forest planting and conservation efforts as well as improve the community livelihoods. Gender empowerment and education are also core elements of their community engagement. 
The project will be co-managed and delivered by ITF, local communities and government authorities in charge of the forest resources. Local Authorities, especially Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) which is in charge of Mount Elgon National Park, will work together with Mount Elgon Tree Growers Enterprise (METGE) &#8211; which has been working within Mount Elgon National Park buffer zones since 2018 &#8211; and ITF in the implementation of this project. They will be involved in all stages of the project, and will provide advisory support especially in the selection of species to be planted in the park and also security issues. UWA has helped in the co-creation of this project where they greatly assisted METGE to identify the most degraded sites within the national park which need restoration and also along the national park boundary where agroforestry support is required in the adjacent communities.
<img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-5370" src="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20220425173004/ITF-Full-Logo-Green-RGB-300x157.png" alt="" width="300" height="157" srcset="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20220425173004/ITF-Full-Logo-Green-RGB-300x157.png 300w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20220425173004/ITF-Full-Logo-Green-RGB-1024x536.png 1024w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20220425173004/ITF-Full-Logo-Green-RGB-768x402.png 768w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20220425173004/ITF-Full-Logo-Green-RGB-1536x804.png 1536w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20220425173004/ITF-Full-Logo-Green-RGB-2048x1072.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />

The project forms phase 1 of ITF – Ecologi reforestation interventions and expansion of geographical scope to vital landscapes in Mbale, Eastern region of Uganda. The Sustainable Community Reforestation (SCR) project aims at the integrated restoration and rehabilitation of the degraded forest blocks of Bulambuli, Bumugibole and Masira of Mount Elgon water tower by replanting 90.9 hectares of degraded forest. 
Specifically, the project targets to restore a total of 63.6 ha of degraded strip of the Mount Elgon National Park in Bulambuli district through enrichment planting, and further restore 27.3 ha of community buffer lands with high value, multi-purpose agroforestry trees.
The Mount Elgon forest ecosystem is classified as one of the 35 biodiversity hotspots in the world according to Conservation International and was designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2003. It forms part of the eastern/central Afromontane biodiversity hotspots and its part of the trans-national Nile –River and Lake Victoria basin, a life line for more than 10 African countries who depend on it. The ecosystem is endowed with multiple physical, biodiversity, social, economic, cultural, and ecotourism. 
Some of this project&#8217;s deliverables are:
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Restoration of 90.9 hectares with indigenous trees, where 63.6 hectares will be for reforestation in a degraded section of the MENP boundary and 27.3 hectares will be for agroforestry.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Undertake one multi-stakeholder inception workshop for 50 participants.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Establish a standard nursery of capacity 40,000 seedlings per season.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Conduct Trainings for 5 local seed collectors on 3 sessions including theory, and practical on standard procedures for seed collection.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Undertake Sustainable land management trainings for 2 groups (each with 25 members) on silviculture, climate smart agriculture, fodder management and agroforestry.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Undertake sensitization and capacity building workshops on gender roles in restoration and climate justice for 56 participants</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Recruit and train 10 gender champions as community Trainer of Trainees for continuous gender monitoring of the project. </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Support the community in the establishment of 50 standard apiaries.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Train groups on production and installation of 56 energy efficient Lorena stoves.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Strengthen local micro finance institutions (Village savings Associations-VSLA) by supporting the constitution formulation and registration for 2 groups. </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Implement 6-episodes (airing episodes for 30 minutes-each) of Farmers Voice Radio to provide a platform for farmers to share knowledge and information. </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Conduct Exchange learning visits to foster peer to peer learning among farmers especially women and youth.</li>
</ol>

It is estimated that 287 million hectares of degraded land in the tropics could be restored to continuous, intact forest. Using current and estimated commitments from the Bonn Challenge and New York Declaration on Forests, our model assumes that restoration could occur on 161-231 million hectares.
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By protecting currently degraded land and allowing natural regrowth to occur, committed land could sequester 1.4 tons of carbon dioxide per acre annually, for a total of 54.5-85.1 gigatons of carbon dioxide by 2050.

Tropical Forest Restoration

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Community-led reforestation of Mount Elgon Water Tower, Uganda

Bulambuli District, Uganda

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Community-led reforestation of Mount Elgon Water Tower, Uganda

Context

The Project

Climate Solution

Tropical Forest Restoration

Photos from Mount Elgon

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Project location: Bulambuli District, Uganda

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