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Climate, Environment and Natural Resources
We restore forests, wetlands and river buffers, and support the community groups that protect them.
8 focus areas
Fort Portal, Uganda · Working since 1993
People and nature flourishing together.
JESE works alongside rural communities to restore landscapes, strengthen livelihoods and build resilience to climate change, so that people and the ecosystems they depend on can thrive.
1993
Founded in Fort Portal, Uganda
Who we are
Rooted in community. Restoring what connects us.
Joint Effort to Save the Environment (JESE) is a Ugandan non-governmental organisation based in Fort Portal, working since 1993.
For more than three decades we have combined local knowledge, scientific innovation and long-term partnerships to restore forests, farmlands, rivers and wetlands while improving the lives of the people who steward them.
13,000+
farmers adopted agroecological practices, 2025
951
young people gained employable and entrepreneurial skills, 2025
6,772
people gained safe water and sanitation, 2025
765.5
hectares protected in the River Mpanga catchment, 2023 to 2026
Our vision
“A community where people and nature flourish.”
This vision has guided JESE since 1993, through changing climates, shifting policies and three decades of community-led work.
What we do
Four ways we work with communities
JESE's four thematic areas work together. Restored landscapes protect water, resilient farms feed families, and skilled young people carry the work forward.
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2025 results
Results we can verify, year by year.
Each figure below belongs to a stated period. Where a number is still being confirmed by JESE, it is marked as such rather than presented as final.
13,000+
farmers adopted agroecological practices, 2025
951
young people gained employable and entrepreneurial skills, 2025
6,772
people gained safe water and sanitation, 2025
765.5
hectares protected in the River Mpanga catchment, 2023 to 2026
Where we work
A regional footprint, a local approach.
Our teams live and work in the communities they serve. From our head office in Fort Portal, Uganda, proximity is what allows us to respond quickly, build trust and stay accountable.
16
districts across the Rwenzori, Albertine Rift and Western Uganda regions.
- Bunyangabu
- Kabarole
- Kyenjojo
- Kamwenge
- Kyegegwa
- Kitagwenda
- Kasese
- Bundibugyo
- Ntoroko
- Ibanda
- Buhweju
- Kagadi
- Hoima
- Kikuube
- Masindi
- Agago
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Stories
Change is personal. These are the people behind it.
How we work
Local leadership. Long-term commitment. Shared results.
We do not arrive with a finished plan. We listen, co-design with communities and local government, and stay long enough for change to take root.
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Listen and learn
We start with the people who live on the land: their priorities, knowledge and constraints.
02
Co-design for resilience
Together we design actions that connect ecology, livelihoods and local institutions.
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Strengthen what lasts
We invest in community groups, governance and skills so that results continue beyond a project.
Our partners
Working with partners who share the vision
Be part of the next chapter
The next chapter starts with what we do today.
Work with communities restoring landscapes, securing water and building futures across Western Uganda.