TIST: Afforestation in Uganda

TIST, which is a flagship program of Clean Air Action, partners with subsistence farmers across Africa and India to plant trees in areas that have been deforested. It is one of the oldest and most successful reforestation projects ever undertaken. The program in Uganda brings together thousands of small landowners in Uganda to plant a mixture of native trees, food bearing trees, and commercial trees. As Renoster puts it, "The nation of Uganda is nearly completely denuded of trees, and many times the trees of this project are the only ones visible in large portions of the country. The success in terms of carbon, biodiversity, and cobenefits cannot be overstated.”

Nature-based projects like this one face some risk of reversal. During the life of the project, carbon storage may be affected by flood, fire, or logging. After the project’s end date, land use changes may also reduce carbon storage.