Entrants's Name: Nuwamanya Tugume Francis

Country: Uganda

Field: Forestry

Innovation - idea: Ecological enhancement and poverty eradication through massive community Tree Planting, we give 20 improved free Pinus seedlings to each selected needy family and not less than 50 families each village. This is to help us make follow up those seedling until the plants are five years.

Innovation - why it is pioneering: Nuwamanya Tree Foundation (NTF) is a non – profit making Uganda based organization which is giving improved tree seedlings for timber production to needy selected families at no cost. Seedlings are delivered directly to the beneficiaries and education on sustainability, economical and ecological benefits are provided. The mission is to creating community prosperity, support social cohesion and preserves a healthy environment through promoting massive tree planting in turn sustain biodiversity and eradicate poverty. Poverty, diseases, ignorance, insurgency and hooliganism experienced in most Developing countries have caused high levels of deprivation. The strategy of maximally utilization of available land especially land edges, compounds, besides roads and pathway. Tree planting is done without displacing existing agricultural crops while less labor is applied and free tree seedlings provided

Strategy - how it achieves impact: Poverty Reduction

Approximately 75% of Uganda’s population lives below poverty line. The trend is passed on from generation to generations due to deficient techniques of investing. Hand to mouth livelihood style. All trainings are practical oriented that can be understood and passed on to others and to next generations, even uneducated can be able to convey. Private valueless lands have gained depending on the number of trees planted in contrast to the total value of some lands almost US$ 200. School tree planting programs will reduce on a number of school drop outs and reduce ignorance by raising hopes for the student. Strategic and long term investment is emphasized and examples are shown through the trees planted. Over 300 families have received and planted Pinus tree seedlings. Each will earn approximately US$ 4400. The program gives hope to hopeless families in anticipating for income in future. Establishment of 670Hectors (917,900 trees) creates income for the investors and in future jobs in carpentry and other timber related industries will be obtained. About 490 skilled and unskilled have been employed in private tree plantations institute from the persuasion of the Foundation and 79 more employed by the Foundation in its seedbeds per planting season.

Biodiversity Impacts

The Foundation is committed for restoration and protection from further degraded ecologically sensitive area of deforestation. Uganda has encountered challenges of global worming. Snow that roofed peak of Mt. Rwenzori has melt living the peak rocky while the biggest Lake in Africa L. Victoria’s water levels have incessantly dropped. And this is the source of River Nile that is holding so many lives of people and animals along it. Community tree planting is a great contribution to sustain environment. In the planting season of March-May 2006 alone the initiative planted 6860 free Pinus trees for the community in additional to 917,900 Pinus trees planted by the private people who the Foundation have persuaded to invest in tree planting. About 300Hectores (417,000 trees) have been cleared for next October-November 2006 planting by new investors. Wider forest cover shall be achieved at long run and the trees will increase the rainfall and retrieving of substantial amount of carbon from polluted air space circumventing desertification. The trainings and workshops on tree planting and sustainability incorporate maximize of land utilization and management.

Strategy - growth plans: Activities commenced in 2002 after conceiving the significance of the initiative. The target is to affect the planting of approximately fifty million trees in 20years. The 200,000families will benefit by getting seedlings. The rest will be planted by privet investors through persuasion. Regional seedbeds in different areas are soon established to decentralize services. Each is to raise 100,000 seedlings per season 75% of which shall be sold subsided price to private planters to sustain the project while 25% will be given to families, Schools and places of worships. The Foundation will at the appropriate time create services at the District and to zone levels for sustainability. Community based organizations are involved directly to take up full responsibilities of preserving biodiversity and eliminate poverty in the society. The Foundation encourages and invites all partners willing to join its programs or set up simile programs as the task is wide that no single faction can grip it effectively. Practical trainings are significant element for sustainability as the information pass on the others even beyond the areas where the trainings is made. Another noteworthy element of the project sustainability is affirmative peer influence. The projects are attractive, visible and expedient for learning from.

Impact to date: Very much, Others organization has joined NTF after realizing our impact on the ground for example, The Rotary Club of Port Bell, District 9200 The Rotary Club of Port Bell District 9200, have shown willingness to support school tree planting program. The Government has a policy of Universal Primary Education while Universal Secondary Education is in pipe line. Some pupils in rural with assistance of parents/guardians shall plant Pinus trees for school frees. A child in Primary by the time is ready for University; the 20trees can produce timber worth US$ 3,900 that will educate a Student. Junior Chamber International - Uganda (JCI-Uganda) An International organization of young professions and entrepreneurs were invited to train beneficiaries on behalf of the Foundation. Local Investors (Employment creation and implementation) they positively responded to the call of investing in tree planting the environment has been upgraded while many are employed. National Forest Authority it’s an act of the parliament of Uganda created to manage and protect Central Forest Reserves. It’s the source our improved and quality seeds and staff trainings. Government of Uganda-Ministry of Water and Environment The Ugandan Ministry for Environment guaranteed the Government’s support and partnership to the Foundation. CBO Community Based Organizations (Mobilization) have made it the work easy by mobilizing the community for the programs.

Future impact: At a rate of NFT is moving at we expect to have given seedlings to almost 100,000 needy families benefiting 700,000 people in the said selected families, created employment to over 5000 skilled and unskilled people through working in private established plantations. Badly of families that planted in 2002 may come to a decision to start harvesting premature time as the source of family income. Although this is not our wish but NTF has no mandate over the trees planted after 5 years. Over 230 million trees will have been planted with 10 years from now through NTF’s efforts this is a big forest cover wish is an achievement on the side of atmosphere carbon emission. Each District in Uganda will have NTF seedbed managed by NTF Community District Leader, to decentralize services to the communities. A college training Forestry academic and practical will have been established in Uganda to train youth how to manage these trees planted and producing an ecological sensitized future generation. Maximum land utilization will have improved greatly as we are sensitizing the public to maximally utilize the available land profitably. We are confident that at the end of ten years most benefiting families will be total free from poverty and no any organization can give that family equivalent to what they will earn free.

Sustainability - resource base: Apparently all Nuwamanya Tree Foundation projects are funded from the humble resources of its founders. We have managed to move at a reasonable pace because of looking for sustainability. We produce seedlings and sale 75% of the total raised seedling per planting season to the private Tree planters, something that help us to maintain our operations and raise more seedlings for the next season. Mr. Nuwamanya Tugume Francis has provided a promise to house the Foundation Secretariat and this has land to raise 100,000 seedlings as demonstration and resource centre for tree farmers. Promising partners are:- The Rotary Club of Port Bell District 9200, to support school tree planting program. To some pupils in rural with assistance of parents/guardians Junior Chamber International - Uganda (JCI-Uganda) Will aid Nuwamanya tree Foundation by training the beneficiaries Government of Uganda-Ministry of Water and Environment Recommendations and any other available assistance has been pledged. CBO Organizing the beneficiaries at grass root level

Major challenge for the field: The main challenge is that task is so big that there is no single organization that can handle alone. We therefore invite any partner that is willing to join us full fill this cause. Great demand for our services while the field team is apparently poor facilitated especially with inadequate field transportation. In rainy seasons which is an appropriate period for tree planting, our staff fail to deliver due to poor rural roads with insufficient form of transport that that result into seedling withering on open back pickups mode of transport available.

Contact Information:

Name: Nuwamanya Tugume Francis
Country: Uganda
Website: -

Bio: Nuwamanya Tugume Francis retired from the army 1993 and joined business life, Founded a Company that is establishing 6000 Hectors of commercial and industrial Pinus plantation in Uganda. After getting involved and realizing that that tree planting could eliminate poverty in the society while preserving bio-diversity, here the issue of involving the community came in. Nuwamanya has attended many tree planting and ecological related seminars and workshops both local and International levels on self sponsorship expense. Point to note is that economy of most developing countries depends to a great extent on the production efforts of subsistence farmers in the rural areas. The production of coffee, cotton and tobacco in case of Uganda which are major exports products is done by these farmers, each family on a very small piece of family land. Even plantation products like sugarcane and tea largely depend on the efforts of peasants farmers who provide out services. Food security in most developing Countries largely depends on production by subsistence farmers. If these people can therefore be profitable involved to use their individual pieces of land, the total impact will be greater boost to bio-diversity and their livelihood will be improved ecumenically.