Samuel Ojelel
Other projects
14 Jun 2016
Empowering the Local Community to Conserve an Endangered and Endemic Encephalartos macrostrobilus, Scott J. & Wynants J. cycad in Madi Opei, Uganda
The overarching aim of this project is to consolidate the achievements recorded during the First Rufford Small Grant project. This shall be realized through training and registering 20 community members who participated in raising cycads into a community based organization to be at the forefront of cycad conservation. This community based organization shall also be exposed to best practices in cycad conservation by undertaking an exchange visit to Toro botanical gardens. In addition, this project shall raise cycad seedlings for community planting as well as sale to horticulturalists. Furthermore, this project aims at documenting the effects of fire on the survival of the species through an experimental approach and thereafter publish the findings in a journal.
E. macrostrobilus male cone.
Consolidating community efforts to protect an Endangered cycad (Encephalartos macrostrobilus) in Lamwo district, Uganda is supported by a Second Rufford Small Grant. It targets an Endangered cycad species namely Encephalartos macrostrobilus located in Lamwo district, Uganda.
This species faces threats of illegal collections, inadequate community organizational capacity to manage it, agricultural encroachment, bush fires and indiscriminate cutting. These threats were identified during the implementation of the First Rufford Small Grant between 2016 and 2017.
In order to tackle these threats, this project shall build local community organizational capacity by training 20 members and registering them into a Community Based Organization (CBO), undertake an exchange visit to Toro botanical garden to learn best practices in cycad conservation, document the effects of fire through experimentation and produce a scientific publication, raise at least 500 cycad seedlings for sale to horticulturalists and 500 for community planting and disseminate 50 project branded T-shirts and 120 calendars to enhance awareness and create project visibility. This project shall also procure indigenous tree seed from the National Tree Seed Center for the community based organization to raise seedlings for community planting.