President Yoweri Museveni together with the visiting European Union (EU) Commissioner, Mr. Virginijus Sinkevičius, have launched the new EU Forestry programme which will see Uganda benefit from the extensive experience of the EU in the forestry sector.
“The European Union is making available grant financing to Uganda to the tune of EUR 40 million (Ugx. 167 billion) in new funding to tackle the root causes of deforestation in Uganda while promoting reforestation and sustainable economic development,” Sinkevičius who is the EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries said.
He noted that the grant comes as a milestone that demonstrates common aspirations in achieving the European Green Deal objectives and the Global Gateway – the EU’s sustainable connectivity strategy.
“This includes enhancing the role of forests in the bioeconomy and nurturing our trade flows of wood material,” he added.
Museveni welcomed the EU group and appreciated their support for the environment, saying it is great to protect the ecosystem including national parks and forest reserves. He added that the wetlands should be included in their conservation plans.
Commissioner Sinkevičius congratulated Uganda for being among the first five countries in the world to sign a Forest Partnership Agreement with the European Union at the COP-27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, where President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen ratified the Memorandum of Understanding on November 8, 2022.
Following that signing, Uganda successfully developed and validated a Forest Partnership roadmap on June 29, 2023, within the set six months as committed globally.
The new Forest programme will work through the following key areas:
To increase inclusive investments and decent job opportunities for women and men in sustainable forestry and forest-based value chain,
To increase forest cover by both decreasing deforestation & forest degradation and promoting forest restoration and community support to preservation efforts; and
To enhance effectiveness of forest resources governance, protection and management.
The Minister of State for Environment, Hon. Beatrice Anywar said Uganda and European Union enjoy a long-standing collaboration in natural resources management (forestry, water, climate change) for over 30 years.
She noted that the implementation of the forest partnership will contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 22% by 2030 and increasing forest cover of up to 21% by 2030, among other benefits.
According to the FAO, the rate of deforestation in Uganda was 51.1 kha per year between 2015 and 2020.
Currently forest plantations only cover 0.2% of all forest land in the country or about 34,000 hectares. About 65% of this is government owned while the rest is privately or customarily owned. Most of the state owned plantations are in a very poor state. There has been little planting.
