Ecotrust Uganda reports back from World Water Forum
Apr 15, 2009 by gkimega
Aerial view of Istanbul. PHOTO/World Water Forum
A trees-for-carbon payments programme by a PRESA partner was highlighted as a successful rewards for environmental services scheme during the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul, Turkey from 16-22 March 2009.
Ecotrust Uganda presented its programme, ‘Trees for Global Benefits,’ at a session titled, “Water and Food for Ending Poverty and Hunger.” The session discussed how market measures can contribute to rural development and poverty eradication.
Participants to the Forum were interested in Ecotrust’s experience with Trees for Global Benefits. Ecotrust is a PRESA partner at the Albertine Rift site in Uganda where it facilitates the negotiation of carbon payments that encourage farmers to plant trees.
The organization’s Executive Director Pauline Nantongo also participated in sessions that dealt with water and sanitation rights as well as ethics, transparency and empowerment of stakeholders.
Trees for Global Benefits (TGB) is among the programmes benefiting from PRESA. The TGB experience relates to how environmental threats create market opportunities for introducing payments for environmental services into rural development. At Istanbul, there were discussions on integrating low cost carbon sinks and carbon sequestration activities into long-term improvements in sustainable land uses.
Although income from carbon sales is not that substantial, participants understood that such income is very valuable as a catalyst for investment in non-food crops for timber, fuel wood, building poles, medicinal extracts, and fruit production.
Pauline found the sessions relevant to payments for environmental services. “The issues we discussed contribute to building a business case for payment for watershed services. The requirement for ethics and transparency, for example, present an opportunity for water utility providers to invest in the improved management of watersheds,” she explains.
Ecotrust was happy to share lessons learnt in Uganda with the international community and hopes to continue to share more information and learn from similar initiatives worldwide. Click here to download and view the presentation.
We encourage PRESA partners to share their own experiences in the field and from meetings such as the World Water Forum. Write to: presa@cgiar.org
I would like to have more information about the programme and possible areas of collaboration in terms of technical and financial links.
My agency is called:
Ezsak’s Multi-Purpose Investiment Agencies,
P.O. Box 42-30204,
Kapcherop – Kenya,
Tel: +254725293150.
It is an associate agency member organization of
Finance Alliance for Sustainable Trade (FAST International)
I will be glad if this can be done within the soonest time possible
so that I link up with my neighbourhood community forestry associations for the same collaboration.
Yours faithfully,
Ezekiel Sakwa Obulemile
Executive Chairman.
I am from Mulanda,Tororo, in Eastern Uganda. I have planted about 20 acres of various trees. This place used to be forested but it has been degraded to qualify for a semi-desert status.
How and where does one get carbon credit?
I have heard about EcoTrus and what it is about. Where are the offices and telephone contacts?
Hello,
Nice to be registered on presa.worldagroforestry.org. My little name is maxizhu
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