Ugandan Communities Plant Trees to Protect Bwindi Gorillas

In the dense forests of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, about 450 mountain gorillas—nearly half of the world’s remaining population—live amid a shrinking habitat. To ease pressure on the park’s trees, residents along its edge are planting medicinal, firewood and craft species in their own communities. The initiative, led by Change a Life Bwindi founder Christina Katushabe and supported by the Batwa Indigenous community, supplies seedlings through the Uganda Wildlife Authority. Assistant tourism officer Joseph Muhindo notes that locals can harvest what they need outside the park, reducing the need to cut trees inside the gorilla habitat. The project aims to restore degraded land, boost biodiversity, and provide sustainable resources for nearby people while safeguarding the gorillas’ home.