Biodiversity Conservation in the Albertine Rift Forests
Geographical location:
Africa/Madagascar > East Africa > Uganda
Summary
This project will provide additional resources to the government of Uganda and its partners to implement innovative conservation activities in the Northern Albertine Forests. It will develop the national conservation strategy for the Albertine Rift Forests under a regional framework, as well as a coherent monitoring and evaluation strategy.
The project addresses the issues outlined in the strategic priority of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The Uganda Ministry of Finances (Aid Liaison Department) is the executing agency, with a national project steering committee (NPSC), comprised of key government departments and stakeholders including the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), National Forest Authority (NFA), National Environmental Management Agency (NEMA), Makerere University, civil society and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), providing oversight. The project is to be implemented by the Ministry of Water, Lands and Environment and WWF, who are joint implementing agencies responsible for the achievement of the project goals.
Background
The Albertine Rift Ecoregion is the most important forest system in Africa in terms of biodiversity, extending across the Great Lakes region of East and Central Africa (Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi). Following a regional level conservation planning process (2001-2003), a strategic planning framework was developed, recognizing six planning units at landscape level. The northern Albertine Rift Forests stand out as one of the key conservation planning units.
However, the strategic planning framework has not been much implemented to date and these important forest systems have been under increasing threat from growing commercial demands, and from impoverished rural communities dependent on forest resources for their livelihoods. The pressure on the forest resources, coupled with weak conservation agencies at decentralized levels have led to considerable loss of forest cover on private and public land.
Objectives
Goal: Conserve and manage the rich biodiversity forests in the Albertine Rift, allowing sustainable development for all stakeholders.
Project purpose: To support conservation and management of nationally and globally important biodiversity resources in the Albertine Rift forests in Uganda.
Outcomes:
- Develop and implement an overall conservation and management strategy for the Albertine Rift forested protected area systems.
- Support the conservation and sustainable management of Central Forest Reserves
- Secure and manage the Northern corridor to ensure connectivity of the Albertine Rift protected area systems.
- Strengthen linkages between forest conservation and improved sustainable livelihoods.
Solution
The project will catalyze the sustainability of protected areas to increase the area of globally important forest under effective conservation management in the northern Albertine Rift forests.
Project activities will include support to collaborative management, capacity strengthening in the National Forest Authority for improved management of Central Forest Reserves, strengthening and maintaining linkages (connectivity) between these protected areas through incentives for forest conservation on private land, and promoting incentives for alternative resource use strategies and conservation on private lands.
The project is to support the government of Uganda goals as set out in the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP), by demonstrating the links between livelihoods and sustainable forest management through supporting community participation and partnership. In addition, it will support good governance and decentralization, improved public accountability and link environment to poverty reduction interventions.
