As climate pressures intensify across Uganda, Ecotrust has unveiled an ambitious plan to scale up community-led restoration efforts, targeting at least 60,000 hectares of degraded land over the next five years.The initiative comes at a time when the country is grappling with escalating deforestation, land degradation and biodiversity loss, all of which continue to threaten livelihoods and environmental sustainability.The commitment was announced ahead of celebrations marking 27 years of Ecotrust’s work in conservation finance and community-based environmental management.Under the new strategy, the organisation aims to improve livelihoods and strengthen climate resilience for more than 16.5 million people across 33 districts.Ecotrust executive director Pauline Nantongo Kalunda described the organisation’s journey as one defined by resilience, innovation and lasting impact.“Our focus has always been to ensure that conservation is not only environmentally important, but also economically beneficial to the communities that depend on these ecosystems,” said Kalunda.Founded in 1999 with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Ecotrust has grown into one of Uganda’s leading conservation financing institutions.The organisation is widely recognised for pioneering models that combine environmental restoration with income generation for rural communities.At the centre of its work is the Trees for Global Benefits programme, launched in 2003, which remains among Africa’s earliest cooperative carbon-offset initiatives.The programme links smallholder farmers to voluntary carbon markets while promoting sustainable land use and ecosystem restoration.Nantongo said Ecotrust’s approach is rooted in making conservation financially viable for ordinary farmers.“We want farmers to plant trees because it makes economic sense, not just because they are protecting the environment,” she said.“When environmental services such as carbon storage and watershed protection are properly valued, conservation becomes a sustainable business.”Through its landscape restoration model, Ecotrust supports farmers to diversify into enterprises such as timber production, coffee and cocoa growing, fruit farming, beekeeping and fish farming, while also accessing financing through carbon and biodiversity credits.From its initial operations in the Queen Elizabeth landscape, the organisation has expanded to the Rwenzori Mountains, Mount Elgon, Murchison Falls, Northern Uganda and the Mpologoma basin.Today, Ecotrust works with more than 54,000 households and supports the restoration and management of over 70,000 hectares across five major landscapes.In a sign of growing institutional sustainability, the organisation has significantly reduced its dependence on donor funding, with about 80 per cent of its financing now derived from private philanthropy, conservation service agreements and its Endowment Fund.Ecotrust board chairperson Isaac Kapalaga hailed the organisation’s growth and impact over the years, particularly its expansion into Northern Uganda.The post Ecotrust targets 60,000ha in fresh drive to restore degraded landscapes appeared first on The Observer.