This intervention titled ?Innovative Community-based Conservation of Indigenous Forest Ecosystem and Promotion of Climate Resilience Sedentary Crop Production for Livelihood Improvement of Women Farmers and Farming Families in Luawa Chiefdom? intents to conserve remnant of indigenous forest covering 200 hectares severely prone to deforestation due to slash and burn farming exacerbated more recently by the ravage harvests and export of rare and threatened species of tropical hardwood spurred by swarms of foreign companies. This initiative shall survey and place under conservation three intact forest and embark on forest corridor expansion using indigenous tree species. A buffer zone will be created around the forest. To sustain these gains the project shall convert degraded farm land into productive landscape to provide income for the communities, establish three Permanent Sample Plots (PSP) measuring one acre (43,560 square feet) each within the community forest. The carbon sequestration of the forest will be determined from these PSP after 5-10 years. To be able to determine this, a baseline of current carbon credit above the soil shall be measured by calculating the DBH at 1.3meters for trees with circumference measuring 10cm within the PSP. The organic carbon underneath the soil is assumed at the 0?10cm layer, however for this project, sampling will be taken at 30cm depth which provides information on changes in the location of organic carbon in soil and helps explain changes under different management practices.

Specifically, this proposal targets three intact secondary forests that provide home for a number of key wildlife species including the Western chimpanzee. These secondary forests, amounting up to 200 hectares are surrounded by five communities that puts enormous pressures on it for farming and harvest of tropical hard wood. These activities ultimately threaten the wildlife habitat and the water and food security of the communities. The initiative therefore aims to promote community-managed forestry to protect the key ecologically significant habitats for wildlife species, this shall be attained together with conversion of degraded farm land into sustainable production landscape that benefits communities.

This proposal constitutes components: 1) conservation of 160 hectares of pristine intact community forest and restoration of degraded forest corridors using indigenous trees; (2) establishing a buffer zone around the forest through conversion of 100 acres of degraded farm land into productive landscape using economic tree plantation such as cocoa, coffee and oil palm to consolidate and conserve the forest and sustain the gains made in the five target settlements; (3) build capacity of five self-help groups with a membership of 250 direct beneficiary farmers (60% women) on community based forest management, nursery establishment and management, and vegetable production.

Project Implementation Committee (PIC) will be formed including representatives from each of the five communities to oversee implementation. In each of the five target settlements, the project will establish community vegetable farms with individual plots for every woman. The tree species shall be 100% indigenous for forest corridor restoration. The productive landscape shall utilize improved seed varieties of the cocoa, coffee, oil palm etc. and vegetable seeds (egg plant, onion, cucumber, carrot, Water Mellon & pepper). Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security recommended pesticides shall be used for pest control. The participants shall be thoroughly trained on pesticides application before supply of the chemicals for establishment of community vegetable farms. The project shall acquire 5,000 indigenous tree seedlings (no exotic species) for forest corridor expansion and 15,000 improved seed varieties for productive landscape.

The expected outcome results include: (1) 160hectares of community forest conserved and 62.5 acres of forest corridor regrowth (2) 100 acres of degraded farm land converted into productive landscapes with economic trees; (3) 250 farmers with sustainable income generating farming activities.