Human settlement, agriculture, and logging have not been kind to the world’s trees, and in turn, have been nothing short of disastrous for the animals that call those trees home.
Reforestation efforts seem like a natural fix – planting trees is good for the climate and good for wildlife – but it’s also a slippery slope into green colonialism when done in developing nations. Yet there are ways to approach reforestation with respect for local communities and in which everyone wins; and the newly launched “Wildlife Habitat & Corridor Restoration Project” in western Uganda appears to be just such an effort.
Announced on July 14, also known as World Chimpanzee Day, the project is a partnership between the Jane Goodall Institute and reforestation non-profit One Tree Planted.
The plan is to plant more than 3 million trees, supporting long-term and large-scale restoration of the Albertine Rift Forests. The area is an important habitat for endangered chimpanzees, as well as more than 50% of birds, 39% of mammals, 19% of amphibians, and 14% of reptiles and plants of mainland Africa. Read more…
