30 September 2015
Ugandan Community Leader Receives Wangari Maathai Forest Award
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In a ceremony held during the XIV World Forestry Congress in Durban, South Africa, Ugandan forest activist Gertrude Kabusimbi Kenyangi was awarded the 2015 Wangari Maathai ‘Forest Champions' Award in recognition of her efforts to promote the conservation and sustainable use of her country's forest resources.

CPF10 September 2015: In a ceremony held during the XIV World Forestry Congress in Durban, South Africa, Ugandan forest activist Gertrude Kabusimbi Kenyangi was awarded the 2015 Wangari Maathai ‘Forest Champions’ Award in recognition of her efforts to promote the conservation and sustainable use of her country’s forest resources.

Kenyangi has been working with Uganda’s National Forest Authority since 1994 to protect and promote the sustainable use of tropical forests in Uganda’s Mbarara and Ntungamo districts. With the help of women of the community-based non-governmental organization Support for Women and Agriculture (SWAGEN), she has planted over one million trees in the Rwoho Natural Forest buffer zone. These activities have not only contributed to mitigation of and adaptation to climate change in Uganda, but they have also been key to preventing further forest loss from cattle ranching in Rwoho forest. In addition, they have generated new sources of income for local communities through beekeeping, timber harvesting and sales of carbon offset credits. Kenyangi is also active at the global level, and has discussed her community-level approach in various UN fora.

The award was established in 2012 by the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), and honors the memory of Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan environmentalist and the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. The CPF is comprised of 14 international organizations working together to promote forest management, conservation and sustainable development. [FAO News Release] [CPF Website]

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