Uganda's Communities Plant Trees to Protect Gorilla Habitats

In Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, communities are undertaking a tree-planting initiative to safeguard the habitat of mountain gorillas, whose population is growing but whose forest home is not.

The project involves planting trees for medicine, firewood, and crafts on the outskirts of the park. The goal is to provide residents with resources they would otherwise need to gather from within the park, thereby reducing pressure on the gorillas' environment.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is home to approximately 450 mountain gorillas, representing nearly half of the world's total population. A 2018 survey indicated a global mountain gorilla population exceeding 1,000, a notable recovery for a subspecies that once faced extinction.

"Being a neighbor to the park, I understand that the number of gorillas is increasing, but the forest habitat is not increasing," said Christina Katushabe, founder of Change a Life Bwindi, an organization that supplies useful trees and restores degraded land. Members of the Batwa community, an Indigenous group, assist in selecting tree species suitable for medicine, timber, and firewood.

The Uganda Wildlife Authority is distributing seedlings, including medicinal trees, to local communities. Joseph Muhindo, an assistant tourism and hospitality officer with the authority, stated that residents can now harvest needed materials within their communities "without tampering with the habitat for the gorillas."

Mountain gorillas are classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, an improvement from their previous critically endangered status. This recovery has been partly supported by tourism, which generates jobs and revenue for local communities through gorilla trekking and the sale of local crafts. Eunice Owembabazi, a member of a women’s crafts group, noted that the tree-planting efforts mean "we people and the gorillas do not inconvenience each other."

The initiative has also extended to local schools, where students participate in planting trees that their families can utilize. "Now we are going to protect the forest, so that our gorillas can stay well," said Davis Musinguzi, a student at Ruhijja Seed Secondary School. These conservation activities were organized in observance of World Gorilla Day, celebrated annually on September 24.