Gendered Green Investment Campaign 2021

ECOTRUST, working with local schools and religious institutes in and around Masindi district, mobilized 17.6 ha of land to support the planting of over 7000 indigenous tree seedlings by women and youth groups living within the ten forest communities of Ongo, Tengele, Motokayi, Kaitampisi, Kyamasuka, Bineneza, Siiba, Sonso, Rwentumba and Alimugonza – as part of the MOMO4C Gendered green investment campaign from the 5 – 12^th May 2021.

The MoMo4C (Mobilizing More for Climate) programme aims to build a climate resilient Murchison landscape where multiple stakeholders work together to manage the landscape ecosystems and ensure sustainable livelihoods. MoMo4C is doing this by developing and supporting viable green business cases that enhance landscape restoration and while supporting improved livelihoods.

The Gendered Green Investment Campaign, which started last year (in 2020), is an annual event supported by MoMo4C, aiming at increasing participation of women and youth in improved forest management and landscape restoration as well as increasing green incomes for these two usually marginalized groups by incentivizing reforestation as a micro business for improved livelihoods. Gender inclusivity is critical in natural resource management because women are the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change (WOUGNET, 2016) and the youth are now the centerpiece of all Uganda’s future developmental efforts. Seven (7) women and nineteen (19) youth groups with a total number of 757 and 381 members respectively, participated in this year’s campaign, planting tree seedlings in public and institutional holdings located within the ten forest communities.

It is noteworthy that ECOTRUST has empowered these ten communities (with support from the Shared Resources, Joint Solutions Programme) to take full custodianship of their community forests through duly constituted structures – Communal Land Associations (CLAs) that are responsible for the governance and sustainable management of these forests. The MoMo4C programme is supporting all 10 CLAs to develop green sustainable business cases as a strategy to materialize the benefits accrued from improved management of forests in line with the notion of Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) as a business.

Involved in this year’s campaign were the Masindi District Forest Services (DFS), District Political leaders and Local leaders (Chairpersons). The church leaders, school authorities, and other community members who generously provided the land for tree growing also took part to ensure sustainability. ECOTRUST field staff will continue to assist these groups with technical guidance, linking them with green opportunities such as payment for environmental service (PES) schemes to bolster their livelihoods.