2008 SPGS Commercial Forestry Seminar

Theme: - Forestry: An Industry That Can Do Much More Than Just Grow Trees

On the 24th of September 2008, we successfully held the 3rd Annual Commercial Forestry Seminar at the Sheraton Hotel in Kampala. This important event brings together key players in the forestry sector to review the achievements and challenges of commercial forestry in Uganda and most importantly, to chart a way forward for the coming year. This year’s event had a number of land marks as highlighted below:

• 118 participants, with a good mix of big and small scale planters, Government and Donor community representatives, Forestry Training and Research bodies, Consultants, relevant NGOs plus potential investors and partners. For the very first time, we had dignitaries from Kenya, and Southern Sudan, which gave the Seminar a regional perspective. To see the full list of participants, click here.
•  Our chief guest speaker, Dr. John Spears, an independent Forestry Consultant to the World Bank, and with over many many years of forestry experience in Africa, delivered a timely keynote presentation titled: “Global Prospects for Commercial Plantation and Agro forestry”. To read John’s full presentation, click here.
• The program covered a variety of today’s hottest forestry issues, ranging from climate change and carbon financing, bio-energy, forest certification, and the future of the commercial forestry industry in Uganda.

 SPGS too had some milestones accomplished; we hit the 10,000 ha targe

Veronique Lorenzo and Ampiire Rhoda, Rhoda has planted all her 40 ha to standard in Kiboga district, western Uganda. She had the distiction of being the grower inspected when we hit the 10,000th ha. mark.

• We have also stimulated a lot of interest in commercial forestry in Uganda. The EU and the Norwegian Government are now considering to joint fund further establishment over the next four years.
•  The SPGS Awards: outstanding performers were given the prestigious SPGS thumbs up. Sustainable Use of Biomass, a German Company planting in Kiboga district in western Uganda, scooped the Best Large Scale Planter (> 500 ha ),  and BESEPO (U) Ltd, a Ugandan owned company planting in Mubende district in western Uganda won the Best Planter Small Scale category (25 – 500 ha). Special Honorary Awards went to Mr. Peter Karani a senior forestry consultant for his long time dedication to forestry work in Uganda (over 50 years) and Mrs. Margaret Kasekende for her exceptional support to the SPGS project during her term as Program Officer, Rural Development at the EC delegation.
•  Carbon neutral: all participants were given a free take home indigenous tree seedling to plant so as to offset the carbon emitted as a result of their travel to the seminar. Additionally, the SPGS is supplying a total of 1200 pine tree seedlings to one of our community groups; the Watoto Childcare Ministries, to plant as a carbon offset project just in case some of the delegates forget to plant their trees.
•   Essay competition: as a prelude to this year’s seminar, SPGS together with the Commonwealth Forestry Association (CFA) ran an essay competition titled “Discuss the impacts of forests (both plantation and natural) on climate change”. The best three entrants were awarded at the Seminar with the winner (Ms. Miranda Nabbanja) bagging a fantastic digital camera on top of other goodies from SPGS and one year membership to the  CFA. The 1st and 2nd Runners up (Mr. Bernard Sabiti and Mr. Daniel Wandera respectively) also won one year membership to the CFA and goodies from SPGS