By Obed Kithende
Kasese Catholic Diocese has offered 20 acres of land in Hima Town Council for a tree-growing project aimed at promoting environmental conservation and mitigating climate change.
The initiative is expected to accommodate 8,000 fruit and other tree species, with funding from Centenary Bank and implementation and monitoring by Good Forest Foundation Uganda.
The project was launched at Hima Catholic Parish, where Centenary Bank Western Regional Manager James Katamba said the bank was concerned about the effects of climate change on people’s livelihoods.
Katamba commended the Diocese for championing environmental conservation and pledged the bank’s support towards achieving the project’s objectives.
Kasese Catholic Diocese Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Francis Aquirinus Kibiira, urged the public to prioritise environmental conservation to restore natural ecological systems.
Bishop Kibiira said human activities, particularly deforestation, had negatively affected the environment, contributing to unreliable weather patterns and rising temperatures that threaten livelihoods.
The Bishop further called on young people, especially students and pupils, to embrace tree-growing initiatives in their communities.
Meanwhile, Hima Town Council Chairperson Hilda Businge welcomed the project and pledged to supervise the initiative to ensure the trees grow and achieve their intended purpose.
