KAMPALA — More than 54,000 rural Ugandan households have received direct climate finance cash transfers through community carbon markets, the Environmental Conservation Trust of Uganda (ECOTRUST) has revealed during the launch of its 27th anniversary celebrations and institutional roadmap.
The event, held at the Golden Tulip Canaan Kampala, brought together conservation stakeholders, development partners, board members, researchers, media representatives, and international partners to reflect on nearly three decades of conservation financing and landscape restoration in Uganda.
Speaking at the launch, ECOTRUST Executive Director Pauline Nantongo Kalunda said the organisation has spent the past 27 years building conservation models that combine environmental protection with economic empowerment for local communities.
“We don’t have to sacrifice the environmental services at the expense of what we consider to be economic benefits,” Nantongo said. “The environmental services are actually useful or critical even for the sustainability of the businesses.”
Founded in 1999 following the transformation of a former environmental grants management unit supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), ECOTRUST was established to promote biodiversity conservation while improving livelihoods through sustainable environmental management.
At the centre of its work is the “Trees for Global Benefits” programme launched in 2003, one of Africa’s earliest cooperative carbon offsetting initiatives. The programme connects Ugandan smallholder farmers to voluntary carbon markets while supporting the restoration of degraded landscapes.
According to ECOTRUST, the programme has engaged more than 50,000 farmers who have planted millions of trees across 34,000 hectares of land, generating approximately $8.7 million in carbon payments and sequestering over 7.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Nantongo said the organisation’s strategy has been to make conservation financially meaningful to ordinary farmers.
“We want farmers to grow trees because it makes economic sense for them, not simply because they are saving the environment,” she said. “When environmental services such as carbon storage, watershed protection and climate regulation are properly valued, conservation becomes a profitable and sustainable land-use option.”
She added that many participating farmers have diversified into enterprises such as avocado farming, tea growing, cocoa production, timber, honey production, fish farming, and medicinal extracts, helping communities reduce dependence on donor aid.
Nantongo also highlighted the growing involvement of young people in climate action and environmental monitoring.
“We are seeing young leaders, some as young as 19 years old, collecting environmental data and participating in restoration work within their communities,” she said.
From its initial operations in the Queen Elizabeth conservation landscape, ECOTRUST has expanded its activities to the Rwenzori Mountains, Mount Elgon, Murchison Falls, Northern Uganda, and the Mpologoma landscape.
The organisation currently supports restoration and management of more than 70,000 hectares of land across five major landscapes in Uganda.
ECOTRUST Board Chairperson Isaac Kapalaga praised the organisation’s growth and resilience over the years, particularly its expansion into Northern Uganda despite operational challenges.
“As one of the founders of ECOTRUST, it is deeply fulfilling to see how far the organisation has come and the impact it continues to make in communities across the country,” Kapalaga said.
“Our commitment remains focused on reaching more communities and ensuring that conservation delivers real social and economic value to ordinary Ugandans,” he added.
Officials said ECOTRUST has significantly reduced reliance on traditional donor funding, with approximately 80 percent of its financing now coming from private philanthropy, conservation service agreements, and its Endowment Fund.
The organisation says it plans over the next five years to improve livelihoods and climate resilience for more than 16.5 million people across 33 districts while restoring at least 60,000 additional hectares of degraded land.
The anniversary launch concluded with stakeholders signing the ECOTRUST Impact Report, symbolically marking 27 years of conservation finance, community empowerment, and environmental restoration in Uganda.
