The GRO Foundation is restoring Uganda’s forests—255M trees, 138M tons of CO₂ captured, and livelihoods rebuilt for a sustainable future.
KAMPALA, UGANDA, March 13, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The land remembers. It remembers the forests that once stood tall, the rivers that ran clear, the life that thrived under canopies stretching beyond the horizon. It also remembers the scars—where trees once anchored the soil, now dust swirls in the wind. Where streams once sustained villages, drought has taken hold.But memory alone does not rebuild. Action does.
A partnership between Carbon Orchard AG and the GRO Foundation is setting out to restore what has been lost. The GRO Foundation is a bold afforestation project designed to not only bring back Uganda’s forests but to create a sustainable future for the people who depend on them.
Over the next 10 years, 255 million native trees will take root in Uganda’s degraded landscapes, sequestering 138 million metric tons of carbon dioxide—a number large enough to shift the trajectory of climate change in this region. But the impact goes beyond numbers. It is about farmers gaining new livelihoods, children growing up in communities where forests mean food, water, and security, and entire villages seeing that climate solutions are not distant policies but tangible, life-changing realities.
Why Now Matters
Uganda has lost more than half of its forests in a single generation. The numbers paint a stark picture—forest cover dropped from 24 percent in 1990 to just 9 percent by 2018. Without intervention, deforested lands will continue to degrade, driving food insecurity, increasing droughts, and leaving families with fewer resources to survive.
There are no government mandates for reforestation and no built-in safety nets. Without a bold shift, the land will keep deteriorating. The time to act is not in five years or ten. It is now.
Where Restoration Begins
The GRO Foundation targets some of Uganda’s most vulnerable landscapes:
• Forest reserves and riverlands, critical for biodiversity and water regulation.
• Community-owned lands, providing farmers with the tools to grow forests alongside their crops, securing both livelihoods and conservation.
• Institutional and public lands, in partnership with Uganda’s Ministry of Water and Environment, local authorities, the inter-religious council, and kingdom-managed territories to ensure long-term land protection.
• This project is more than planting trees. It is about rebuilding rivers, protecting wildlife, and restoring the ecological foundation that supports entire communities.
A Model That Puts People First
Reforestation is often reduced to statistics—trees planted, carbon offset, hectares restored. The GRO Initiative is different. It is designed to put people at the center of the solution.
The model creates lasting change by providing:
• Microfinance programs that allow farmers, women, and young people to take ownership of reforestation efforts and directly benefit from them.
• Thousands of new jobs tied to planting, maintaining, and protecting the forests.
• Sustainable land use practices that teach communities how to integrate conservation with agriculture.
• Investments in rural electrification, clean water access, and food security, ensuring that environmental restoration leads to stronger, more resilient communities.
“Planting trees is a promise to the land, to the people, and to the future,” says Paul Flynn, founder and trustee of GRO Foundation. “This is not just about offsetting carbon emissions. It is about making sure that the people who nurture these forests also thrive.”
Turning Climate Finance Into Local Action
A project of this scale requires more than good intentions. It demands innovation, funding, and a clear plan to connect local action with global investment.
The project is now listed on Carbonmark’s digital platform and ensures that the GRO Foundation receives the resources it needs when it needs them, without bureaucratic delays.
• The foundation’s carbon project is validated and registered with the International Carbon Registry, guaranteeing rigorous carbon certification standards.
• It operates under CDM methodology AR-ACM0003 and ISO 14064 standards to ensure measurable environmental impact.
• Ex-ante carbon credits allow investors to fund reforestation now, providing immediate capital to plant trees and support local communities.
“We believe climate finance should be transparent, effective, and impactful,” says Andrew Bonneau, managing director at Carbonmark. “Our partnership with GRO Foundation ensures that global carbon markets are not just mechanisms for offsetting emissions but vehicles for real environmental and social progress.”
A Future Built By Many, Not Few
Uganda’s forests will not return on their own. But with the right partnerships, the right investments, and the right vision, the landscape can be transformed. Tree by tree, family by family, village by village.
The GRO Foundation is about more than planting forests. It is about redefining the relationship between nature and economy and proving that the two can grow together.
Key Project Details:
• Credit period runs for 45 years from May 15, 2024, to May 14, 2069
• 255 million native trees will be planted
• Carbon sequestration potential is 138,571,687 metric tons of CO₂ over the project’s lifetime, with an annual average of 3,079,370 metric tons of CO₂
The work begins now. The forests will not return overnight, but they will return. And when they do, they will stand as proof of what is possible when people refuse to accept loss as the final chapter.
Join the Movement
The GRO Foundation, alongside Carbon Orchard, is already making a difference—but it needs more hands, more voices, and more action.
Carbon credits from this initiative are available now through Carbonmark, allowing businesses and individuals to take part in restoring Uganda’s forests and strengthening its communities.
A forest begins with a single tree. A future begins with a single decision.
Be part of this transformation.
Dustin Plantholt
BlockBuzz PR
+1 443-528-1372
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