The Nile Basin Reforestation Project is being implemented by the National Forestry Authority in collaboration with community groups. The growing trees, which will eventually spread across five projects equaling 2,137 hectares (5,281 acres), will absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in exchange for revenue from the World Bank's BioCarbon Fund.

"This is a milestone for Uganda, especially considering the difficulty associated with bringing reforestation projects to this stage of final approval," said Kundhavi Kadiresan, the bank's country manager for Uganda.

The project, expected to generate 700 jobs, will establish a plantation of pine and native trees in the Rwoho Central Forest Reserve, an area that has suffered from deforestation and erosion.

The World Bank's BioCarbon Fund draws on both public and private contributions. Similar projects have great potential for the continent, said Inger Andersen, director of sustainable development for the bank's Africa section.

"Through climate-smart land management and forest conservation, Africa can play a vital role in carbon sequestration and climate regulation," Andersen said. "Scaling up these practices is a priority, as they also have great potential for providing sustainable livelihoods for rural Africans" (Afrol News, Oct. 7). -- PV