On May 8, 2021, Fairventures Worldwide team in Uganda launched the Kaazi reforestation project in the country’s Makindye Ssababagabo municipality in the Wakiso District. This is a collaborative project with the Uganda Scouts Association. It aims to plant 30,000 seedlings of indigenous trees within the next 12 months in response to the rapid annual deforestation rate.
The onset of this reforestation project started with the construction of a permanent tree nursery at Kaazi with a capacity of 30,000 seedlings in December 2020. The nursery shall raise only indigenous tree species meant for the reforestation of Kaazi.
At the launch, a total of 2,430 tree seedlings were planted and these comprised of Musizi (Maesopsis eminii), Mahogany (Khaya anthotheca), umbrella tree (Terminalia superba), Larged-Leaved Saucer-Berry (Cordia africana), and Silk Oak (Grevillea robusta).
The launch was attended by 350 people. These were mainly university students and members of the scouts Association. In attendance (among others) was also FAO Country representative Dr. Antonio Querido who in his speech quoted Uganda’s alarming deforestation rate and wondered how and when we shall be able to end deforestation since the current annual planting rate is not even a quarter of the harvesting rate. He mentioned that “annually, we are losing 120,000ha of land of the indigenous natural forests and we are only planting around 3,000 hectares”.
Dr Maggie Kigozi, Chief Scout of the Association and Advisor to the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) represented the Scouts at the launch and committed that these trees will act as buffer zones against human activities to help restore water catchment areas. The planting area for the project has been made available by the Uganda Scouts Association, owners of a patch of land in Wakiso that was once completely forested.
Uganda, like many other countries, is experiencing the negative effects of climate change, having to deal with long periods of dry weather in recent years. The Kaazi reforestation project has been implemented to counteract some of these negative impacts. Fairventure’’s long-term goal is to plant 500,000 seedlings in this area.
Watch the launch of the project on YouTube that was broadcasted by NTV News Uganda on May 8, 2021.