Supporting communities in implementing Afforestation and Soil & Water Conservation Measures 

Supporting communities in micro-catchments around Kabuyanda Irrigation Scheme to implement Afforestation and Soil & Water Conservation Measures

Written by the AidEnvironment team in Uganda 

The Government of Uganda, with funding from the World Bank, is supporting the implementation of the Irrigation for Climate Resilience Project (ICRP). The objective is to provide farmers in the project areas with access to irrigation and other agricultural services, and to establish management arrangements for irrigation service delivery. The project will, among other activities, develop irrigation in Kabuyanda (Isingiro district) through establishing the Kabuyanda irrigation scheme. In the Kabuyanda Irrigation scheme a sustainable farmer-based management system shall be established to manage, operate and maintain the scheme infrastructure once constructed.  

The Kabuyanda Irrigation scheme is located in three micro-catchments namely, Kyabaganda, Kyezo and Mishumba in Isingiro, Ntungamo and Rwampara Districts respectively. The Project shall provide support to the implementation of priority catchment management and restoration activities in Kyabaganda, Kyezo and Mishumba micro-catchment found in Victoria Water management Zone (VWMZ). The priority catchment management and restoration activities that have been identified in the plan and include investments in soil and water conservation, riverbank and wetland protection; tree growing; and livelihood improvement for affected communities. 

In this regard, AidEnvironment was contracted to implement afforestation and soil and water conservation measures. The overall objective of this assignment is to support communities in the micro-Catchments around Kabuyanda irrigation scheme to implement catchment-based and community driven actions aimed at improving soil and water conservation and reafforestation. 

Under this project, AidEnvironment expects to: 

• Identify, mobilise, engage and build capacity of stakeholders and communities in undertaking catchment-based and community-driven actions in soil and water conservation, and tree growing. 

• Support communities to implement soil and water conservation measures on priority hotspots in the micro catchments.  

• Support communities to restore deforested and degraded land through community tree growing on individual farmers’ land and public land. 

Having these measures in place will ensure sustainability of the water resource, feeding into the Kabuyanda irrigation scheme, and also address catchment degradation issues, promote conservation and enhance sustainable use of natural resources of the micro-Catchments for the benefit of the communities around the irrigation scheme.