WILDLIFE DAY | YOUTH | AFFORESTATION       

Atem Mega Youth Group, based in Gulu District is a Community Based Organization of 30 members, 15 men, and 15 women aged 18 to 35 years. 

Established in 2011, the group started by growing vegetables such as tomatoes and onions, before they embraced tree growing.

Group chairperson, Sunday Willy says the reduction in tree cover in their area was due to the 20-year Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) that forced locals into camps. 

While in the camps, the only source of fuel available to them was firewood which led to uncontrolled deforestation in areas around the camps.

Before they began growing trees, Sunday says his group was trained in tree farming under the Sawlog Production Grant (SPGS III) project which is funded by the EU and being implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

An official from FAO measures one of the tree to check if it has attained the required size. Photos by Prossy Nandudu

Part of the training session covered skills on mobilization so as to get community members on board, how to make money from trees, medicinal values of certain trees among others. 

Such training encouraged many people to join tree planting for commercial purposes as a group and individuals. At the moment Sunday’s group has planted 15 hectares of pine tree, which they hope to harvest in ten years.

Sunday however adds that as they wait for the trees to mature, the group still grows horticulture products such as tomatoes, cabbages, green paper, which is supplied to Gulu main market and other roadside markets.

As a sustainability measure, the group has established village savings associations where members borrow money invest in horticulture and then payback.

Apart from, Gulu, another group of youth in Lira districts into the promotion of tree farming is Pur En Lonyo Youth Network Association, found in Alebere Parish Lira District, with a membership of 20 people. They are into nursery tree planting and selling.

After getting to know the benefits of trees both short and long-term from other groups, the group requested for tree seedlings from FAO in 2016, according to Lincoln Owera, the group Chairperson and Youth Representative of Itek sub-county, Lira District.

Apart from selling tree seedlings, they are into commercial farming of rice, soybean, sunflower and maize, which is sold as a group. 

For instance, the group sells sunflower and soya beans to Mukwano group of companies. 

Sunday Willy in one of the pine tree gardens.

They have further developed by-laws that force one to replace a tree every time one is cut, a by-law that has been accepted by the district authorities.

The two are examples of youth groups in the country that, with support from FAO’s SPGS project have embraced tree growing for various reasons. 

Other groups are in Zombo, Abim, Kakumiro, Kiryandongo and Nakasongola districts, among others.

Supporting communities to benefit from tree planting

According to FAO’s communication unit, the aim of the SPGS Project is provision of financial and technical support to commercial tree farmers all over the country, to plant trees for poles and sawlogs.

The project also supports small-scale tree planting by communities, institutions, to provide alternative sources of fuelwood and timber for home use and sale, which has reduced, heavy reliance on existing natural forests.

They add that through the project, quality seedlings are provided to community groups of farmers and train them with practical skills how to establish quality plantations, usually measuring half an acre to 10 acres.

With such activities spread across the country, FAO documents add that by January 2021, over five million seedlings of assorted plant species such as Pinus caribeae, Tectona grandis (Teak), Measopsis eminii (Musizi), Gmelina arborea, Grevillea Robusta, and Eucalyptus grandis, had been distributed to 246 community groups which have established 4,164 hectares.

It is estimated that between 200 and 350 million people live within or adjacent to forested areas around the world.

In the coming session, close to one million seedlings will be distributed to 55 community groups during the planting period March-May 2021, resulting in establishment of 816ha.

Wildlife Day

The above activities are in line with the Wild Life Day that is celebrated on March 3, under the theme Forests and Livelihoods: Sustaining People and Planet" as a way of highlighting the central role of forests, forest species and ecosystems services in sustaining the livelihoods of people globally, and particularly of Indigenous and local communities with historic ties to forested and forest-adjacent areas.

It is estimated that between 200 and 350 million people live within or adjacent to forested areas around the world, relying on the various ecosystem services provided by forest and forest species for their livelihoods. 

Forests also cover their most basic needs, including food, shelter, energy and medicines.

However, activities like cutting trees for shelter and farming are threatening the forest cover, hence the need for joint efforts to address the above challenges for the two to coexist.