For over a decade, the Jane Goodall Institute Uganda has worked to conserve private and communal forests in the Budongo-Bugoma Corridor, a critical chimpanzee habitat under severe threat from deforestation. Forest loss is driven by agricultural expansion for crops like sugarcane, rising firewood demand, and the growing impacts of climate change, including hotter, drier conditions and erratic rainfall. Using a multi-stakeholder approach, the initiative unites local communities, conservation organisations, and government agencies to promote sustainable forest management and build long-term ecosystem resilience.

The Nyantonzi and Kasenene restoration sites in the Budongo Central Forest Reserve, were heavily degraded due illegal logging, charcoal production, and conversion to agriculture. Native tree species such as Khaya, Milicia excelsa, Entandrophragma, Mitragyna stipulosa, Cynometra alexandrii, and Cordia mellinii were harvested for timber, charcoal, boat-making, and fuelwood, leading to severe habitat loss for chimpanzees, forest birds, and other wildlife. Much of the land was replaced with sugarcane fields and smaller plots of beans, groundnuts, and maize, particularly along the forest boundary.

In 2017, Ecosia partnered with the Jane Goodall Institute Uganda, supported by JGI Austria and co-financed by the Austrian Development Agency, to launch a community-led restoration initiative. This effort addresses the root causes of deforestation through reforestation, habitat restoration, and livelihood diversification, empowering local communities to protect ecosystems while strengthening resilience to environmental and socio-economic challenges.