For over a decade, the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) Uganda has been working to conserve private and communal forests in the Budongo-Bugoma Corridor of Western Uganda. These forests face severe threats from deforestation because of agricultural expansion, driven by a growing population and rising demand for crops like sugarcane, as well as demand for firewood. Climate change exacerbates these challenges, with hotter, drier conditions, more frequent wildfires, and unpredictable rainfall threatening both biodiversity and local livelihoods.
This corridor is a critical habitat for chimpanzees and other wildlife and faces significant deforestation threats, agricultural expansion, and climate change. The initiative integrates biodiversity restoration with climate adaptation strategies, focusing on protecting community livelihoods and fostering social and ecological resilience. It adopts a multi-stakeholder approach and promotes collaboration among local communities, conservation organisations, and government bodies to restore and sustainably manage this vital ecosystem.
In 2017, the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) Austria partnered with Ecosia to support restoration within the Budongo-Bugoma wildlife corridor. The project is implemented by the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) Uganda. Ecosia is a Berlin-based search engine that dedicates its ad-revenue to funding environmental initiatives. JGI Uganda promotes conservation, sustainable development, and environmental education while empowering local communities to coexist harmoniously with wildlife and protect natural ecosystems for future generations.
This partnership aims to plant trees within the Budongo-Bugoma Corridor via community-led restoration, addressing the underlying causes of deforestation while focusing on livelihood diversification. Local communities play a central role in implementing these initiatives, which aim to build resilience against environmental and socio-economic challenges. The project receives co-financing from the Austrian Development Agency.
The Kasenene restoration site (19.5 hectares), located in Kasenene village, is part of the Budongo Central Forest Reserve of the Budongo systems range. Before the project’s inception in 2017, the area had been heavily degraded, with most native trees illegally harvested by communities adjacent to the forest.
To evaluate restoration progress, The Global Biodiversity Standard (TGBS) methodology was implemented at the Kasenene restoration site in September-October 2024. The assessment was conducted across a 19.5-hectare restoration site by Tooro Botanical Gardens, Uganda, with an independent review provided by the TGBS Secretariat, hosted at Botanic Gardens Conservation International.
Averaging the scores from the eight criteria, an overall score of 7.93 out of 10 was awarded to this site. No criteria scored negative points, and a minimum of 6 out of 10 was scored across all 8 criteria. This grants the Kasenene restoration site under the Bugoma-Budongo chimpanzee corridor restoration project Advanced Certification level. It is the first site to receive this level of certification under TGBS.
Read the full case study here: TGBS-JGI Advanced Site Case Study – Medium resolution
