Kyaninga Forest Foundation (KFF) was set-up in 2010 initially to help local communities in the vicinity of Lake Kyaninga and the surrounding Kyaninga Forest find ways to deal with the ever-increasing demand for natural resources such as firewood. Through this community-based work the urgent need for a wider intervention was recognized and KFF attained NGO status in 2017 to address these issues. In
the previous 7 years work, KFF successfully planted over 40,000 indigenous trees which saw a dramatic increase in both the abundance and biodiversity of many birds, primates, insects and lizards in the Kyaninga Forest. Similarly, the distribution of trees to local communities has helped reduce the pressure on the remaining forest but as the Ugandan population continues to rise at an alarming rate, the need to provide sustainable sources of energy and transfer knowledge on climate-smart agricultural practices has become evermore prominent. As such, KFF is now looking to work with communities across the wider Kabarole District in Western Uganda in finding sustainable methods to provide for future generations, whilst maintaining intact and stable ecosystems. Although the focus point of KFF’s work is mainly in forestry, projects are also under way to conserve and protect other important ecosystems such as rivers, swamps and lakes, where trees play an integral part in soil stabilization. Such interventions aid in preventing siltation of such ecosystems and ensuring that water quality remains high but also in reducing the loss of agricultural land through erosion.
