BCI is proud to partner with the Joint Efforts for Green Mountain Initiative to support the creation of a wildlife corridor connecting Bwindi Impenetrable and Queen Elizabeth National Parks.

This ambitious and visionary project will connect Queen Elizabeth National Park to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park along the River Munyaga ecosystem. The Bwindi-Queen corridor will provide ecological connectivity using bamboo, indigenous tree species, and other fruit trees.

The Need

The Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a critical watershed system for the entire Kigezi region of southwestern Uganda and large areas in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It is part of the western rift valley that marks the watershed boundary between the River Nile and River Congo basins. 

The Munyaga River and its major tributaries constitute an estimated total length of 130 Km, equally split between Uganda and DRC. The river and the related ecosystem, especially outside the protected Bwindi INP, have been put to a wide range of human uses, mainly agro-forestry and fishing, livestock farms, tea plantations, and mining of sand and stones for construction, especially in the rapidly urbanizing areas of Bwindi and Butogota. The Bwindi HEP dam has so far been the largest single-use project on the river, and its impacts on the river ecosystem have not been fully documented and mitigated as may be needed. 

Healthy ecosystems are a fundamental requirement for sustainable development and biodiversity conservation. Biological resources support human livelihoods and make it possible to adapt to changing needs and environmental conditions. The concurrent conservation and sustainable use of fresh water ecosystems are a critical contributor to attaining a number of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The JEGMI has developed a community-based initiative to protect and restore the ecosystem, starting with a pilot program along the Munyaga River banks while creating a corridor extending from Queen Elizabeth National Park to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The initiative is be scaled up to the entire Munyaga river ecosystem in Uganda. And, conditions permitting in DRC, similar initiatives may be considered along other river ecosystems associated with the Bwindi INP.

Our Contribution

The mission of this project is to help contribute to environmental conservation and Climate Change Mitigation and Adaption through actions that boast natural environment systems, regenerate biodiversity and enhance ecological balancing.

Objectives of the Project:

1. To provide sustainable protective care resource base for wildlife and human life
2. Promote conservation of protected and non-protected natural resources through planting of bamboo
3. Protecting nature through working in partnership and community sensitization programs
4. Promoting equitable and sustainable utilization and management of river buffer zone conservation areas through corridor creation while planting bamboo

Expected Outcome:

1. At least 102 hectare of land reserved and protected along the river
2. A corridor is created along River Munyaga Buffer zone to allow the restoration of flora and fauna
3. Over 20,000 bamboo and 10,000 indigenous tree species like mahogany and ebony planted within corridor

Next Steps

Key elements in program design and its implementation:

Ecosystem survey: This will be done in Phase One consisting of mapping and marking area to be conserved and analyzing comments of stakeholders.

Community mobilization: This shall start with the different categories of leaders in the community and gradually include all community members, local government and protected-area conservation managers. The mobilization activities shall include community dialogue forums, media-based education and participatory discussions, group exploration visits along the Munyaga River, and community-led prioritization of specific issues to be addressed. The program shall prioritize the needs and welfare of community stakeholders, who do farming along the river system, to ensure that they receive tangible benefits from taking on the responsibility for managing the corridor while protecting the Munyaga River ecosystem, either through improved quality of life or financial rewards.

Partnership building: The program implementation shall adopt a partnership approach, working closely with elected local government leaders and employed staff, community groups, educational and religious institutions, and private sector actors especially in the tourism, agriculture and agro-processing industries. The partnership with schools will be geared towards creating lifelong awareness among the staff and students; direct partnership in awareness-raising activities such as music, dance, drama, poetry, written essays and artwork; and engaging some of the students and staff as individual change agents in their families and other social settings.

Awareness creation: This shall be used as a key entry point and agenda-setting activity and as a platform for advocacy. It will be used to generate and clarify the issues of focus in ecosystem restoration and sustainable management; to agree and promote goals and targets for the project; to disseminate actions and progress in program implementation; and to publicize and celebrate program successes. 

Capacity building: Areas for capacity building shall be identified by the community members during participatory planning and review exercises in the long run. These will be conducted at the Phase One of the project to come up with and prioritize noted problems, resources and opportunities and to identify areas for capacity building. Similar reviews shall be done periodically in the life of the program to address emerging issues. The capacity building will focus on enhancing genuine community engagement in all aspects of the program, from planning to implementation, progress monitoring, annual reviews and periodic evaluations. The capacity- building process will include elements of classical training and on-going mentoring.

BCI is supporting this ambitious project through fundraising efforts and strategic planning support. We are proud to back this vision created by Joint Efforts for Green Mountain Initiative.