The New Forests Company (NFC) is using CDM to help finance its reforestation of an area in western Uganda in its Namwara project.
Deforestation in Uganda has been extensive. Former Ugandan environment minister Kahinda Otafiire says: “After independence, we had 40%-50% of the Ugandan land surface under tree cover. Now, approximately 22% is under trees. The effects of this deforestation are glaring. Rivers and brooks are dried up, former grazing lands have been degraded, and the tree roots we used to use for fuel have gone, so it is important that we double our efforts in reforestation to avoid disaster.”
In order to start reversing the trend, the Ugandan government invited NFC to take on the lease of the 9000 hectare Namwasa site. The site was deforested some years ago and the soil seriously degraded by the farming of cash crops such as cassava. Partly funded by money made available through the CDM, work has commenced. Project manager Lee Cunningham explains NFC’s plans for the site: “We intend to plant 6500 hectares with a mixture of pine, which will grow for 18 years, and eucalyptus, which will grow for 12. We will leave the hilltops as natural areas and, within the riverine areas we’ll do enhanced planting, returning some of the natural species to the area to help preserve some of the natural flora and fauna.”
Olav Bjella, executive director of the Ugandan National Forestry Directorate, expresses optimism about the scheme: “The approach that The New Forests Company has taken is very encouraging. It has brought in world class expertise; it has proven it is capable of financing its plans. That is why we have granted it licences. What we have seen so far is very encouraging. It has established a large-scale nursery, which I think will stand out as a model for all other nurseries in Uganda. If all continues to plan it will soon become the largest tree planter in Uganda.”
Community development
This reforestation requires the good will of local people. They must appreciate the benefits of reforestation. As NFC managing director Julian Ozanne, who has spent much of his life working in Africa, explains, NFC is keen to involve local people in the scheme: “Our projects must be commercially profitable but also environmentally sustainable and have a large social responsibility and community development angle. A project like this that uses so much government and community land must deliver tangible social and economic benefits to the local people. If we do not do this the project will not be a success.”
NFC is as good as its word, local people are working in the nurseries, in planting and in forest management. They are encouraged to plant their own trees to give them a stake in the operation. NFC has also rebuilt schools and helped provide infrastructure that benefits the whole community. Namwasa is now one of two forest reserves licenced to NFC by the Ugandan government.
The CDM has created a structure where profit and ecological protection can co-exist, as President Museveni said when visiting the NFC plantation: “Where everybody wins, nobody loses.”
