The Bushbuck Reforestation Project

Native trees are being cut at an alarming rate in the Masai Mara region in Kenya. Many hotels, lodges and camps in the area collect firewood for their cooking and heating needs, and for their evening campfires - without making plans to replenish these resources. The lack of knowledge of sustainable forest management and alternative energy use is resulting in deforestation, soil erosion, desertification, and severe loss of biodiversity.

Basecamp has set as a goal to influence and challenge the fast growing global tourism travel, and to inspire and encourage the tourism industry to move towards more sustainable forms of energy use. Our Bushbuck Reforestation Project supports the conservation of biodiversity and develops local entrepreneurship through re-planting of indigenous tree species in riverbank areas. We actively communicate, inform e and raise awareness within the local community and among the many tourists in the Masai Mara on the issues of overgrazing, unsustainable harvesting of trees the risk of desertification and its negative impact on climate change.

Basecamp has a long-term lease agreement with local Maasai landowners with the common understanding that we are to secure overgrazed areas for reforestation and restoration of the biological integrity of the habitat. Our intention is to inspire local landowners as well as lodge and camp owners to plant trees and to prove that tree planting activities are not only beneficial to the environment, but at the same time provides for improved grazing and stimulate other income-generating activities. The Bushbuck Reforestation Project also demonstrate that the planting of trees generate income and improved local livelihood.

From a business perspective this project is key in developing Basecamps Sustainable Travel and Transportation Strategy. Basecamp has already started to off-set CO2 for internal air-travel and partly for visiting guests to Basecamp Masai Mara. We are currently working towards incorporating reforestation and tree planting into our strategy for off-setting travel-related CO2 emissions for all our visiting guests and all company related air-travel.

The aim of the Bushbuck Reforestation Project is to establish land lease agreements and CO2 off-setting projects that are secure, efficient and simple and cheap enough for other tourism companies and individual travellers to subscribe to.

Our vision - and long-term goal - is to establish and manage a portfolio of tourism related projects that not only balances but has a net positive effect on today’s CO2 levels. Therefore, Basecamp is actively seeking out projects that can contribute to absorbing more CO2 than we emit through our core business operations. We consider the Bushbuck Reforestations Project to be a small step in the right direction.

Partners:
Basecamp Explorer Kenya
Local Maasai landowners

Funding:
Basecamp Explorer Foundation
Private donors
Guests at Basecamp Masai Mara