The area around Rwoho forest in the south of Uganda is a lush reserve spanning more than 9,000 ha, an area equivalent to around 12,600 soccer pitches (see map). In 2006 a programme was launched to pay locals to farm and reforest some of it, mainly with new timber plantations of pine and mixed native trees, after years of deforestation and soil erosion.
The plan was simple. Locals would look after trees for 22 years or until they reached a certain diameter. They would get paid for it in small increments. But what initially appeared to be a boon to the local rural economy and climate change turned out to be a complicated relationship between funders and farmers – one that ultimately failed.
What sounded so simple stopped abruptly last year. The carbon credit project was meant to be an environmental poster child for the international community to find a way to battle climate change. Instead, it led to farmers cutting down trees prematurely, out of frustration...