Located in South West Uganda, the Kibale restoration project rehabilitated 10,000 hectares of degraded land within the Kibale National Park, where natural causes, human disturbance, and poor land management had led to severe degradation and soil erosion.
By planting indigenous trees and supporting natural regeneration, the project, which is run by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) jointly with the Climate Impact Partners, has created a thriving carbon sink. The area, with very high concentration of primates, has achieved Biodiversity hold certification under the Climate, Community, and Biodiversity Standard.
Planting of seedlings plus the significant tending and maintenance activities have been put in place to ensure healthy restoration. Much of the tending involves removing the elephant grass in the area which is extremely prevalent, invasive and restricts new tree growth.
Richard Kigenyi, the Warden for Forest Restoration at Kibale National Park explained that with forest fires being a risk, the project has also created an additional forested zone around the edge of the park to reduce the risk of fire reaching the interior areas.
The park is home to one of the largest chimpanzee populations in the world, and is believed to contain the only viable population of red colobus monkeys in Uganda. As forests become fragmented due to degradation and the landscape shifts to a savannah-type ecosystem, the threats to local species are increased.
The project’s reafforestation activities have proved to improve the connectivity within the park and support the restoration of the biodiversity in the area.
Kigenyi further expressed that in addition to delivering emissions removal to help take urgent action to combat climate change (SDG 13), the project continues to deliver several other sustainable development benefits that include Life on land, “whereby 1.76 million indigenous trees have been planted to restore the forest.”
He explained that through the UWA Face project, 8,000 of the 10,000 hectares have been successfully restored with Indigenous trees, reserving the remaining 2,000 hectares for game corridors, wetlands, and other essential habitats.
“The government sought funding to restore the area in 1994. We initiated the process by burning and then planting. Two years later, we consulted with experts who advised us on pioneer trees. Today, we witness the remarkable transformation from grassland to forest, and our goal is to
become a global conservation agency, and the return of wildlife has significantly supported the ecosystem,” he explained.
Rose Mutonyi, the Warden for community conservation at Kibale National Park also highlighted that at least 250 locals are directly employed even outside peak restoration seasons.
“Over 500 people per operation, work here; from planting the forest to protecting it. Even in off-peak seasons, 250 workers are registered. Imagine everyone earning money for 12 months – that’s a full year of pay,” she expressed.
In addition, Kigenyi explained that the project area also supports more than 350 bird species, four species of wild cats, and at least 350 tree species. More than 13 species of primates are also found within the park, including the Red-tailed monkey, Black and White Colobus, Grey Cheeked mangabey, and Red Colobus, among others.
Communities that live in the forest area rely on subsistence farming for their livelihoods. Many have been trained in forestry skills, including seed collection, nursery management, and tree planting and maintenance, to supplement their incomes.
David Ngabirano, the LC 1 chairperson of Isunga village, Kabalore district, says that the project has directly impacted the locals whereby over 200 community members are employed seasonally to carry out rehabilitation programs, and another 140 community members are permanently employed by the project leading to economic development and transformation of the area.
“We appreciate UWA, together with its partners, for engaging our people, especially those from less privileged households. People who once thought of cutting trees now go to the forest to earn money through employment opportunities and getting medicine,” Ngabirano said.
On the other hand, UWA has adopted the energy-saving cookstoves initiative, which has been transformative to the community.
John Justice Tibesigwa, the Chief Warden of Kibale National Park says, the innovative stoves enable households to cook with less firewood, reducing the need to cut trees in the forest and limiting human-wildlife interaction.
One of the beneficiaries, Scovia Mweteise, a resident of Kyakabuzi Village, Ruteete Sub-county in Kabarole District, noted that the cook stove saves firewood. “With its two cooking spaces, it allows me to cook food and sauce simultaneously, hence reducing the firewood consumption, time and produces less smoke,” she intimated.
Kibale National Park is one of the last remaining tracks of tropical forest in Uganda. It provides great environmental benefits, specifically serving as a home to large populations of primates. The Kibale National Park Rehabilitation Project seeks to protect these benefits.
The overall goal of the project is to protect and restore biodiversity, increase carbon stocks, and sustain the park’s overall vital ecological functions. This project began in 1995 to promote the regeneration of 10,000 ha of deforested lands within the Kibale National Park in western Uganda. Actions taken have included the manual weeding of elephant grass and planting of 400 native tree saplings per hectare.
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