Conservation of the environment and natural resources was identified as a priority in primary schools of Iganga district, eastern Uganda. Currently there are no deliberate efforts put in place by the district to address the consequences of environmental degradation by any other development partners. This proposed initiative is intended to complement our current tree planting program in primary schools and community efforts towards sustainable solutions.
The surface Customs of Iganga district primary schools have completely failed to deal with problems of land use patterns like swamp reclamation for agriculture, tree cutting, overstocking/grazing and land fragmentation. Customary Land Tenure is the most predominant land tenure system in the district. By its nature it constrains development and conservation of resources because no single authority of the clan or village has more rights over the land in particular than others.
Our approach is to offer a combination of policy advocacy, capacity building {for school pupils, school teachers, local government, religious leaders, central government and civil society}, and support tree nursery beds as well as scaling up tree planting initiatives. The policy advocacy and capacity building elements of this proposal will provide a strong foundation for the other activities and serve to catalyze tree planting and investment in community-based trees provision in primary schools.
The project will emphasis capacity building and community participation. The pupils and other community members will feel involved and able to influence their situation, thereafter a sense of ownership of the project in the 2 selected primary schools and surrounding community will be developed. Hence, empowered pupils who will be confident and able to achieve positive results for themselves. The project will build on active involvement of all the relevant stakeholders.
