Trees for Global Benefits

Eradicating Poverty One Ton of CO2 at a Time

Trees for Global Benefits (TGB) is ECOTRUST’s flagship community carbon programme, connecting smallholder farmers to carbon finance through forestry, agroforestry and sustainable land management.

Trees for Global Benefits

Established 2003

Trees for Global Benefits (TGB) is ECOTRUST’s flagship community carbon programme, working with smallholder farmers to restore degraded landscapes, sequester carbon and improve rural livelihoods through sustainable forestry and agroforestry.

Through performance-based Payments for Ecosystem Services, TGB connects farmers to carbon finance while supporting long-term investment in trees, sustainable land management and climate-resilient livelihoods. The programme now reaches over 54,000 smallholder farmers across Uganda and has strengthened 320 community-owned institutions, including business groups and village savings and loan associations.

TGB-supported forests, woodlots and agroforestry systems now cover 34,286 hectares, using indigenous and naturalized tree species to restore degraded landscapes and reduce pressure on natural forests and protected areas.

Through these interventions, TGB-supported trees have sequestered up to 7,518,071 tonnes of CO2, contributing to climate-change mitigation while creating long-term livelihood opportunities for participating farming households

PES Model

TGB uses a Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) model that rewards smallholder farmers for establishing and maintaining trees and adopting sustainable land-management practices.

Through performance-based payments, participating farmers earn income from verified environmental benefits, including carbon sequestration. This provides a long-term financial incentive for farmers to invest in forestry and agroforestry alongside their other livelihood activities. The programme also connects farmers to carbon finance and other sources of conservation and livelihood financing.

By linking environmental performance with household income, TGB helps make sustainable land management a viable long-term livelihood option, while contributing to landscape restoration, biodiversity conservation and climate-change mitigation.

TGB Impact at a Glance

Since 2003, Trees for Global Benefits has grown into a nationwide community carbon programme, connecting smallholder farmers to carbon finance while restoring landscapes, protecting ecosystems and creating sustainable livelihood opportunities.

TGB: Sustaining Restoration Across Uganda's Critical Landscapes

Trees for Global Benefits works alongside ECOTRUST’s wider project interventions as a long-term sustainability mechanism for landscape restoration in Uganda. By linking smallholder-led restoration to carbon finance and Payments for Ecosystem Services, TGB creates incentives for communities to maintain trees and sustainable land-use practices beyond individual project implementation periods.

Across these landscapes, ECOTRUST works with communities to restore degraded land, strengthen the management of forests and other critical ecosystems, and protect important biodiversity areas. TGB-supported forestry, woodlots and agroforestry systems now cover 34,286 hectares, while programme interventions contribute to the protection and restoration of 10 water catchments and 13 protected areas. TGB-SDG Contributions

Agoro-Agu

Queen Elizabeth

Rubirizi district
Mitooma district
Kitagwenda district
Kamwenge district
Ibanda district
Bushenyi district
Buhweju district
Ntungamo district

Mount Elgon

Mbale district
Namisindwa district
Sironko district
Bulambuli district
Kapchorwa district
Manafwa district
Bududa district
Budaka district
Butaleja district
Kaliro district
Kibuku district
Namutumba district

Murchison

Rwenzori Mountains

Mixed Native Species – Version 1

Mixed Native Species – Version 2

Featured Publication

Finance for Integrated Landscape Management

De-risking smallholder farmer investments in integrated landscape management: ECOTRUST’s Trees for Global Benefit (TGB) in Uganda

This case study describes a conservation finance mechanism implemented by the Environmental Conservation Trust of Uganda (ECOTRUST). The mechanism delivers US$6 of every US$10 to smallholder conservation farmers through a blended model that combines public (donor) finance, private-sector foreign direct investment (FDI), and community contributions, to support long-term biodiversity and climate change outcomes at the local level. ECOTRUST has developed this model over 17years of implementing its Trees for Global Benefit (TGB) program.

TGB PES payments are linked to performance-based targets

Through its performance-based Payments for Ecosystem Services model, TGB connects smallholder farmers to the voluntary carbon market, rewarding them for verified carbon sequestration and sustainable land management. By the end of 2024, the programme had supported 51,874 participants with PES agreements and transferred more than USD 8.7 million in PES payments to participating farmers.