By Dr. Alfred Okot Okidi, Everlasting Secretary, Ministry of Water and Surroundings
Loss has dominated conversations about tropical forests for a few years. Declining tree cowl, rising emissions, and the stress on governments struggling to steadiness growth with conservation have formed the narrative. Uganda is aware of these challenges effectively. However the world dialogue typically omits how nations are responding and the progress being made.
Uganda’s forests at the moment cowl an estimated 2.4-2.7 million hectares, equal to roughly 12-13% of the nation’s land space, down from about 24% (roughly 4.9 million hectares) in 1990, with most of this long-term decline pushed by agricultural growth, charcoal manufacturing, and biomass extraction.
Nonetheless, focusing solely on historic loss obscures an vital shift. Over the previous a number of years, Uganda has moved from fragmented, project-based forest safety towards a coordinated nationwide method grounded in coverage reform, sturdy monitoring, and accountability. That shift issues, notably because the worldwide group debates new mechanisms such because the Tropical Forest Endlessly Facility (TFFF), which goals to reward nations that preserve forests by way of predictable, long-term finance.
Since 2022, Uganda has sustained and guarded roughly 2.5 million hectares of forest and different pure landscapes by way of a nationwide, jurisdictional method led by the Ministry of Water and Surroundings. This progress reveals an ongoing nationwide effort aligned with Uganda’s Nationwide REDD+ Technique and its Nationally Decided Contribution beneath the Paris Settlement and varieties a part of a longer-term dedication to proceed defending forest landscapes.
Central to this effort has been the strengthening of forest governance and monitoring methods. Uganda’s Nationwide Forest Monitoring System, operated by the Division of Forest Administration beneath the Ministry of Water and Surroundings, attracts on long-running forest inventories, biomass assessments, and satellite tv for pc information to trace land-use change and emissions. The outcomes are independently verified and publicly reported, reflecting worldwide requirements for measurement, reporting, and verification. These methods had been initially developed by way of engagement with the UN-REDD Programme and have continued to evolve in response to rising expectations round transparency and integrity.
Coverage motion has additionally focused the underlying drivers of deforestation. Safety and enforcement measures have been mixed with demand-side interventions, together with different livelihood programmes and efforts to cut back reliance on charcoal and fuelwood. In 2023, a presidential government order addressed the environmental injury linked to the charcoal commerce, whereas climate-smart agriculture, agroforestry, and land-use planning initiatives had been expanded to enhance productiveness with out additional encroachment on forests.
None of this implies that the problem has been solved. Uganda continues to lose forest cowl every year, and pressures from inhabitants development, urbanisation, and vitality demand stay actual. In line with satellite-derived monitoring by World Forest Watch, Uganda continues to expertise annual pure forest loss at a stage of tens of 1000’s of hectares, an estimated 27,000 hectares in 2024 alone. However local weather outcomes are formed by trajectories, not snapshots. The path of journey, and the capability to measure and handle it, is what issues.
That is the place rising mechanisms such because the Tropical Forest Endlessly Facility deserve critical consideration. TFFF proposes a shift away from short-term, fragmented funding towards long-term, performance-based finance linked to verified forest outcomes. Eligibility is predicted to depend upon demonstrated forest cowl, declining deforestation traits, and credible nationwide monitoring methods. These are demanding standards, however they’re exactly the areas the place Uganda has invested institutional effort over the previous decade.
Equally vital is the query of belief. Forest finance solely works when communities see tangible advantages and governance methods guarantee accountability. Uganda’s safeguards framework, hosted inside the Ministry of Water and Surroundings, addresses land tenure, entry to info, session, grievance mechanisms, and anti-corruption measures. Any revenues generated by way of forest-based local weather finance are supposed to be reinvested into continued safety, enforcement, and livelihood help, decreasing the danger of reversal and making certain long-term impression.
Uganda’s expertise reveals that forest conservation at scale is just not a theoretical ambition. It’s a sensible train in governance, information, and political will. The nation’s forests regulate water methods, help biodiversity, underpin rural livelihoods, and contribute to nationwide financial resilience. They’re additionally a part of a world local weather system that is determined by standing forests far past nationwide borders.
If the world is critical about constructing a reputable subsequent era of forest finance, it should look past rhetoric and recognise nations which might be placing sturdy methods in place. Uganda’s progress doesn’t declare perfection, however it does exhibit readiness. Amenities like TFFF will in the end succeed or fail primarily based on whether or not they reward that type of sustained nationwide effort; not guarantees, however proof.
MINISTRY OF WATER AND ENVIRONMENT
The Ministry of Water and Surroundings (MWE) is liable for setting nationwide insurance policies, requirements, and managing water and surroundings assets in Uganda. We work to make sure sustainable administration, growth, and equitable entry to water and sanitation providers for all Ugandans.
Our mandate covers water assets administration, water provide and sanitation, surroundings safety, meteorology, and local weather change adaptation. We collaborate with growth companions, native governments, and communities to attain our mission of sustainable water and surroundings administration.
Picture credit score: Ministry of Water and Surroundings.
