Uganda

Forest Restoration and Conservation by Indigenous and Local Communities

Project completed

Organisation

Support for Women in Agriculture and Environment (SWAGEN)

Website

Support area

Conserving natural carbon sinks

Funding

154909 €

Project duration

Jan, 2024 – Jan, 2026

Both Timu and Morungole forests in Uganda are historical ancestral homes of the Indigenous People called the Ik. These forests are threatened by over-harvesting, fires, and pressure from human settlements. Additionally, conflicts have emerged between landowners, pastoralists, and indigenous peoples concerning the land tenure situation.

This IKI Small Grants project pursues a double objective: on the one hand, it restores and conserves the forest ecosystem, where the Ik live. On the other hand, it supports the livelihoods and incomes of communities through beekeeping and sustainable land management practices. The project targets 4,940 Ik to conserve 200 hectares forest through joint patrols and restore 1,020 hectares. It further demarcates 6,300 hectares of forests, installs 1,000 beehives, and establishes 120 hectares of mixed crop and tree systems. The project secures upscaling by integrating results into national policies, district bylaws, and shared management plans.

Degraded Area in the Forest Reserve under restoration

Capacity development

IKI Small Grants supports SWAGEN in their organisational development through:

Digital monitoring and evaluation tools
Project planning and management training
Gender mainstreaming policies application
Fundraising trainings
Training in efficient accountability
Organisational development and conflict resolution

About the organisation

Support for Women in Agriculture and Environment (SWAGEN) is an indigenous organisation founded and owned by grassroots women in Uganda. The organisation came into existence in 1998.

SWAGEN has already partnered with Afr100, a consortium of Donor organisations to implement a project for restoration of the forest ecosystem in Rwoho, South Western Uganda. They further worked with the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (UNFAO) to put in place a gender mainstreaming manual for the forest sector in Uganda. SWAGEN works in collaborative forest management with the National Forest Authority to conserve the forest resource and ensures equitable conservation benefits sharing. This is in addition to being an implementing partner for REDD+ and the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility. The organisation has won the 2015 Wangari Maathai Forest Prize awarded by the Collaborative Partnership on Forests hosted by FAO as well as the 2015 Eradication of extreme poverty prize awarded by ONE.