The project is located in the Bushenyi district of southwestern Uganda. Here, our local partner, Ecotrust, provides smallholders with the knowledge and technical support to use their land sustainably. Farmers are able to meet their immediate needs, without reducing their capacity to meet those needs in the future. By using native tree species, a basic criterion in the Plan Vivo standard, biodiversity is strengthened and climate change vulnerability is reduced.

This project has now expanded into a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Rwenzori Mountains of the DRC. This success is in part thanks to, among others, our clients who have supported this project.

Since 2003, the project has planted around 2,3 million trees, resulting in a total of more than 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide being sequestered. But tree planting is only the first phase, it later becomes agroforestry. This means that the trees are constantly maintained and thinned so that the forest stays healthy and absorbs maximum carbon dioxide. When the trees have matured they provide food for local people, a source of income and help to keep the soil productive. They also provide a complex and resilient ecosystem, a habitat for many species to live in, meeting the needs of both people and wildlife.