Trees for Global Benefits 2018 Year in Review


Part 3 of Our Interview with Pauline Nantongo Kalunda


Kicking off our 2018 Trees for Global Benefits (TGB) highlights is the final installment of our 3-part discussion about the project, one of about 20 video interviews we conducted during our visit in March (more on that below). It begins with a discussion about “additionality,” or how the project wouldn’t be occurring as a result of government policy or without sales of its certified carbon credits. You’ll also learn about Uganda’s Constitution Amendment Bill of 2017, how the project helps participants obtain formal recognition of their land rights (a topic often referred to as “land tenure”), and how TGB facilitates participation by individuals with extremely small landholdings. We also cover the Community Carbon Fund (CCF), TGB’s large waitlist of future beneficiary farmers, and how Ecotrust manages supply and demand.

 

 

Celebrating 15 Years of TGB


Started in 2003 with 33 farmers in the Rubirizi and Mitooma districts, TGB has now expanded to over 12 districts and nearly 7,000 farmer participants, making it the largest agroforestry carbon scheme in the world! To celebrate, Ecotrust published this cool and informative ‘story map’ which charts TGB’s growth (click image to open):

 

2018 also marked 10 years of TGB support from Max Burgers, a climate-conscious Swedish hamburger chain which, among other things, lists each food item’s CO2 emissions on its menus. Ecotrust marked this milestone with another story map focusing on environmental and social impacts created by Max’s support.

Jane Goodall Recognizes Ecotrust as part of HWC Resilience Fund


At the Jane Goodall Institute Uganda (JGI) Annual Event in June, Ecotrust was among several implementing partners recognized by Jane Goodall herself for their role in the implementation of the Human Wildlife Conflict (HWC) Resilience Fund. JGI, Ecotrust, and Chimp Trust are implementing an 18-month conservation project which aims to enhance community resilience to losses from wildlife incursions in the in the Albertine Rift, which ranks first out of the 119 distinct terrestrial eco-regions of continental Africa in terms of endemic animal species. The project aims to enhance wildlife protection by mitigating negative HWC livelihood impacts for communities living in and around the vital wildlife migratory corridors which connect forest reserves protected under the jurisdiction of the National Forestry Authority (NFA).

Multiple Appearances on NTV Uganda


In 2018, Ecotrust had two high-profile appearances on NTV Uganda which can be viewed below. The first is a general feature of TGB as part of the NTVGREEN series, and the second is Pauline discussing the conservation of Uganda’s big cats with WWF country director David Duli and Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu, Minister of Tourism, Wildlife, and Antiquities.

Additional Ecotrust/TGB Updates


Here’s a roundup of selected items straight from Ecotrust’s news page:

  • In Q1, the project announced grants of UGX 15 million (about US$ 4,042) to four community groups. One grantee, the Mubuku Integrated Farmers Association (MIFA), received solar lamps worth UGX 4,053,000 for their project “Kick Kerosene lamps out of Mubuku landscape,” an initiative for empowering MIFA members by simultaneously improving health and literacy.
  • In March, the project endured a weeklong visit by COTAP! We spent 7 days learning about farmers’s TGB experiences by talking to about 16 participants in the Kasese and Rubirizi districts. In addition, we spoke with Ecotrust ED Pauline Nantongo Kalunda in Kampala, field staff like Winnie Namwirya, and Richard Akora, owner of a nursery which supplies seedlings to TGB farmers.
  • Ecotrust participated in conservation events across the country, including a World Wildlife Day festival in Kasese, Water and Environment Week in Entebbe, and World Wetlands Day in Arua district, as well as various government policy/planning/training workshops and meetings which are too numerous to list!

Get Future Updates Directly from Ecotrust


You can get caught up on Ecotrust’s news through their website’s archive here and sign up here to get future TGB updates directly and as soon as they’re announced.

 

 

When you donate to TGB, you’re not only offsetting your unavoidable CO2 emissions, you’re also restoring landscapes and supporting farmers like Beatrice Tubamwenda, pictured below. She is earning a total of $610.40 for planting and maintaining 400 trees which are capturing and sequestering 203.4 tonnes of CO2!

How Your Offsetting Changes Lives