There is fear that with the increasing climate change, the average global temperature is likely to rise above the normal 57 degrees Fahrenheit degrees.
To asses these and other climate-related risks, the diesel-reduction goal that was set by ATC in 2017, has led to the adoption of ambitious Green House Gases (GHG) emissions reduction targets and efforts to help limit future global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, address climate change and help citizens meet their own GHG emissions reduction commitments.
According to National Forestry Authority, about 90% of Ugandans use firewood and charcoal for cooking resulting in intensified deforestation. The high demand for timber and charcoal has drastically reduced Uganda’s forest cover leading to calamities such as climate change, soil degradation, and loss of biodiversity.
The urgency of forest conservation is inevitable, and that is why ATC Uganda is deliberate to participate in tree planting. Early this year in April the ATC Uganda team planted 30, 000 trees Bethany Land Institute – Kalule, and today they have planted 1000 trees in Kiteredde, Nakaseke District.
The activity led by the CEO Dorothy Ssemanda, is a collaborative effort with the Private Sector under the Running Out of Trees (ROOTS) campaign spearheaded by the Ministry of Water and Environment in partnership with Tree Adoption Uganda. The campaign aims at engaging local stakeholders in attaining National Restoration Goals of restoring over 2.5 million hectares of degraded forest landscape by 2030.
“Through our Company Sustainability agenda, we are committed to protect and conserve the environment for which our communities inhabit. Our responsibility is in our participation in the collaborative ROOTs Campaign where we are adding our voice to many entities who care and are concerned about this threat for which we are all accountable the future generations. This collaboration is a step in the right direction and an assurance that more collaborations are possible to mitigate the consequences of the larger problem-Climate Change. We hope to plant over 30,000 trees in the different parts of the country by 2023″
“We are aware of the diverse negative effects of Climate change where droughts, floods, and landslides are making regular breaking news in our media, to announce loss of lives, livelihoods, cruel weather changes that affect agricultural produce, etc. Therefore restoration of the green cover is a part of the bigger solution which can only be achieved by proactive action in collaboration with the Government of Uganda and in partbership with Tree adoption Uganda.” said Ssemanda.
Speaking at the event, Angella Katusemiire, the Projects Officer at Tree Adoption Uganda said their effort in partnership with ATC is geared towards improving forest cover in the different parts of the country identifying those that have been greatly affected by deforestation to facilitate other economic activities.
“The trees that have been planted here will be monitored by our mapping technology that allows us to track all the trees we have planted in the country to ensure their that they have been able to survive for at least 10 years, while they reduce the CO2 composition in the environment, fostering him a survival.
Jjunju Ezekiel, a resident of Kiteredde Village, Nakaseke district one of the beneficiaries of the Tree adoption strategy of partnering with local land owners to plant trees on a large scale said that through the campaign, forest cover has been restored in the area which has improved the climatic conditions of the place and as a result, improved crop yields on the farms.
Since 2021, ATC Uganda has participated in the ROOTS campaign by planting trees and donating towards the purchase of tree seedlings.
