Topsoe and WWF Denmark support Climate and green Jobs Project in Uganda

• Through the partnership, Topsoe and WWF Denmark will support the Climate and Green Jobs Project in the Rwenzori Mountains National Park (RMNP), Uganda.
  
  
• The project aims to create and scale green jobs to protect ecosystems and create climate resilience in the Rwenzori Landscape (RL), which houses approximately 805,000 people.
  
  
• The project is estimated to restore approximately 75ha forest land (or 105 football fields) with indigenous species, which will benefit biodiversity and enhance the communities’ livelihoods through nature-based jobs such as within the timber value chain and beekeeping.
  
  
• Topsoe will back the project with 3 million DKK from 2022-2025, which will go toward interventions such as forest restoration, development of alternative nature-based and restoration-related livelihoods, and financing of the national park through community and nature-based solutions.
  
  

Topsoe is committed to become the global leader in carbon emission reduction technologies. In line with this, we have set the ambitious target of net-zero by 2040. We also aim to support climate resiliency and ecosystem preservation, wherever possible. Therefore, Topsoe enters this partnership with WWF Denmark. Together, we will support local communities in RL, Uganda, to foster climate resiliency in the delicate ecosystems in the RMNP.

This will be done through nature-based solutions, meaning ecosystem conservation, management and restoration interventions intentionally planned to deliver measurable positive climate adaptation and mitigation impacts, that have direct positive implications for human development and biodiversity. Additionally, the project adopts a gender-sensitive approach, which focuses on creating fair conditions under which women and men benefit equally.

Through these methods, the project aims to harness nature's immense potential to provide for communities’ well-being, hereby enhancing their resilience to climate change.

Ajs Dam, Corporate Partnership Director at WWF Verdensnaturfonden / WWF Denmark says,

“Commitment to reducing your climate footprint is crucial to halt global climate change. Topsoe has, by setting ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets, shown real commitment and ambition. With this partnership, we are pleased that Topsoe is adding nature-based actions that benefits nature, people, and climate. “

Stinne Hjulmann, Sustainability Specialist at Topsoe says,

“The Climate and Green Jobs Project has an important perspective of not just adopting nature-based solutions, but also doing this in a holistic and gender sensitive way. At Topsoe, we are excited to partner with WWF to deliver such leading and innovative impact to mitigate climate change.”

The Rwenzori Mountains National Park (RMNP) covers nearly 100,000 ha in western Uganda. Also known as “Mountains of the Moon”, the area is a designated UNESCO world heritage site and is nominated as a biodiversity hotspot – home to dozens of species of plants and animals not found anywhere else in the world. The area is threatened by a dense population in the Rwenzori Landscape, which combined with a high level of poverty, places an increasing pressure on ecosystems and biodiversity as more and more people turn toward illegal felling and poaching.

The Climate and Green Jobs project aims to address the root causes of this pressure on ecosystems. This is done by engaging companies, financial institutions, and local stakeholders to mobilize investments into ecosystems, nature-based enterprises, and to support decent jobs.

Partially funded by the Danish International Development Agency (Danida), the project targets 1,200 people living in rural areas and 500 people in urban areas through establishment of green jobs e.g., within the timber, bamboo, and honey value chains. The women, who are included in this target group, gain knowledge and tools to create a better position for themselves in society. This increases both equality and the entire economic development in the area.

With Topsoe’s funding, WWF Denmark will be able to expand and scale the identified solutions, reach more beneficiaries, and expand activities, including community-based ecotourism activities.

About WWF Verdensnaturfonden 

WWF is represented in more than 100 countries and is the world's largest and most influential nature organization. In Denmark, WWF counts 70 dedicated employees who are fighting globally and locally to solve the nature crisis. We collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders across all sectors. This is how we create results for wildlife, for people, for nature.