As BMCT’s mission to support park activities, we work in partnership with UWA to mitigate Human- Wildlife conflicts annually. To achieve this target, BMCT contributes towards the construction of a buffalo wall as a barrier to problem animals that destroy community gardens.
Uprooting of invasive species from the park to allow regeneration
Domestication of the local tree species has yielded important lessons. Indigenous knowledge has been the source of basic information in the seed source, propagation and tree management. Local people have known, used and valued these species as part of their culture and way of life. The people know their uses, durability, hardness and strength, seed germination, growing habits.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, is composed of rugged terrain/hills prone to erosion and so is the area around Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. The communities living adjacent the two National parks are engaged in subsistence farming as a source of livelihood for food and income generation. Due to poor methods of farming, over cultivation, steepness of the land (gradient), high rainfall intensity among others, makes the area susceptible to soil erosion thus which affects crop production.
In an effort to curb all the above encumbrances, BMCT is working with local communities to solve the challenges of land degradation through massive mobilization of communities to engage in Sustainable Land Management (SLM). Activities such as construction of trenches, planting of calliandra seedlings to stabilize bands, planting bamboo on the edges of the steep land to reduce water run-off and planting Gravellier trees have been implemented in the three districts of Kisoro, Kanungu and Rubanda benefitting over 35 sub-counties.
Tree planting is one of the community projects that is supported by BMCT as a conservation strategy. To encourage community members to undertake tree planting on their private land, we created a BTTC (Bwindi Trust Tree Champion) project to reward individuals who excel in planting trees.
Musenene Isaac, the 2016/17 BTTC Champion got BMCT funding to plant eucalyptus trees. He currently has over 3,000 eucalyptus trees that he intends to harvest and sell as building poles.
BMCT also runs two nursery beds that sit on 2 acres of land. On these pieces of land, extension workers train community members on tree planting methodologies. These include propagation, transplanting and general tree management.
In an effort to curb all the above encumbrances, BMCT is working with local communities to solve the challenges of land degradation through massive mobilization of communities to engage in Sustainable Land Management (SLM). Activities such as construction of trenches, planting of calliandra seedlings to stabilize bands, planting bamboo on the edges of the steep land to reduce water run-off and planting Gravellier trees have been implemented in the three districts of Kisoro, Kanungu and Rubanda benefitting over 35 sub-counties.
A large proportion of families in BMCT implementation area cook over an open fire. They not only require firewood in order to do this, which is a cause of greater deforestation, but these fires also produce smoke which damages both human health and the environment. This scenario isn’t different from their rural counterparts in other parts of Uganda.
As a conservation organization, BMCT contributes to the national efforts to reduce pollution as well as deforestation through training their community members in energy saving stoves use.
The energy saving stoves built by BMCT trained communities require less firewood to produce the same amount of heat as an open fire because they are well insulated. They also produce less smoke to mitigate the effect of health and environmental damaging emissions like carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.
Although the local people will continue to collect firewood, for using in the new stoves, the amount collected will within a specific time period, be reduced.
BMCT has started training its beneficiaries of Biogas making through using plant and animal waste. This has begun with the heifer beneficiaries.
Funded by D. Swarovski KG, BMCT implements the Sustainable Water Management for People and Nature around Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP) project to address some of the above challenges related to both environment and livelihood among the populations that live adjacent to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP).
The project is being implemented in 20 schools and communities neighboring BINP in Kanungu District in South Western Uganda. 20 water schools (WASH clubs) have been established and sanitation activities initiated and water tanks constructed. This is mainly under pillar 1 of the Swarovski program which includes access to fresh and safe water.
The provision of clean and safe water is implemented under the Banyara Gravity water scheme. Designed and constructed by Ugandan engineers, the water scheme provides safe and clean water for almost 20,000 people in Kanungu District. The source is located in the mountains allowing gravity to create sufficient pressure to transmit water through the 42.8 km pipeline system, which includes four reservoir tanks (of capacities; 150m3 100m3, 50m3 and 30m3), five break pressure tanks, 58 tap stands and one protected spring.
This scheme greatly reduced the distance to water points from four kilometers to less than 500 metres, resulting in a great reduction in time and energy consumption. Time is now spent on productive ventures like agricultural production, vegetable growing and tea factories. There is also reduced pressure on the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park because fewer people enter the park to collect water.
As a conservation organization, BMCT contributes to the national efforts to reduce pollution as well as deforestation through training their community members in energy saving stoves use.
The energy saving stoves built by BMCT trained communities require less firewood to produce the same amount of heat as an open fire because they are well insulated. They also produce less smoke to mitigate the effect of health and environmental damaging emissions like carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.
Although the local people will continue to collect firewood, for using in the new stoves, the amount collected will within a specific time period, be reduced.
BMCT has started training its beneficiaries of Biogas making through using plant and animal waste. This has begun with the heifer beneficiaries.