Located on the Uganda-Kenya border, Mount Elgon has the widest volcanic base in the world and is the oldest and largest solitary volcanic mountain in East Africa. Mount Elgon offers a variety of ecosystem goods and services essential to the livelihoods of the rural communities settled there. However, the ability of the ecosystem to continue providing these goods and services has been substantially diminished. This is mostly due to land degradation driven by insecure land tenure, overexploitation of natural resources, use of unsustainable agricultural practices, soil erosion, lack of integrated land-use planning and deforestation to create land for agriculture and settlement for the growing population. All these factors are exacerbated by climate change, jeopardizing the livelihoods and economic activities of the communities that depend on Mount Elgon’s agricultural landscape.

The Integrated Landscape Management for Improved Livelihoods project supported the transformative shift from unsustainable to integrated sustainable land management in the Mount Elgon region of Uganda. It sought to systematically reduce land degradation and risks of nature-induced disasters (notably floods and mudslides), whose economic losses can be significant. The project followed a landscape approach, whereby integrated land use management practices were reinforced by gender-responsive resource management principles and by an enabling environment (bylaws and ordinances) developed through community participation. This project has contributed to SDGs 1, 13 and 15, as well as Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA) Priority Areas 5, 6 and 7. 

The project was implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries of Uganda and the District Governments of Bulambuli, Manafwa and Mbale. The project received support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the National Forest Authority of Uganda, the Government of Uganda (Operation Wealth Creation), the Coffee Development Authority of Uganda, the Office of the Prime Minister (Third Northern Uganda Social Action Fund), ECOTRUST, the Uganda Women Environment Project, the Mount Elgon Tree Planting Project, Kyagalanyi Coffee Limited, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN-REDD Programme, the Government of Germany and the European Union (Low Emission Capacity Building Programme). 

Project activities included a South-South learning visit to the Upper Tana-Nairobi Water Fund Project in Kenya, attended by Ugandan farmers and technical officers from district governments and from ministries of the national inter-ministerial committee on sustainable land management. The host introduced the participants to Kenyan farmers involved in fish production, fruit tree nurseries and coffee irrigation, and to the project partners overseeing and providing technical support and services to the related value-chain players (World Agroforestry (ICRAF), the National Water and Sewerage Corporation, the Kenya Water Resource Authority and the Kenya National Roads Authority). 

During the visit, the Ugandan farmers learned that in the mountain areas they can channel runoff water from roads into cheaply made water reservoirs reinforced with polythene dam liners. They can then use the water for fish and yam production, while protecting the soil from landslides by planting bamboo around the reservoirs. The bamboo later provides good charcoal for household use and for income generation. Up to now, three groups of farmers (each with 25 members, half of whom are women) are implementing the lessons learned around three water reservoirs. In addition, Self Help Africa, an indigenous NGO working in Mount Muhabura in Southwestern Uganda, supported 52 farmers (including 29 women) to attend a learning event in the Mount Elgon region, focusing on community-level methods used to halt land degradation and landslides. 

To avert climate change effects (notably a higher incidence of heavy rains leading to floods and mudslides), the project established 1,142 kilometres of contour bunds (embankments), 525 kilometres of grass bunds, 30 kilometres of stone bunds, 44 hectares of woodlots, 330 hectares of agroforestry (mainly fruit and fuelwood), 30 kilometres of bamboo rows and 50 kilometres of hedgerows in the districts bordering Mount Elgon (Sironko, Mbale, Manafwa and Bulambuli). The planting of Napier grass and Calliandra on contour bunds reduces soil erosion while increasing fodder available for livestock. Alongside the use of composite manure, these practices improved soil fertility and water retention capacity. The project also constructed 3,150 energy-saving stoves, contributing to reductions in the firewood used by the communities for cooking. Furthermore, the establishment of 33 demonstration plots of coffee–banana systems showcase and support the uptake of sustainable land and forestry management, climate-change mitigation technologies and household level approaches. 

These initiatives are easily replicable as they require accessible materials and can be carried out by local community members who benefit from the activities through increased availability of food and income.