Charlotte Kanabahita
Forestry Department, Ministry of Water, Lands & Environment
PO Box 26905, Kampala, Uganda
Tel: 256-41-34 74 60; Fax: 256-41-34 56 05
Overview of the most important expected changes
Uganda will continue to experience rapid population growth in the next 20 years. Economic growth has been projected at 7% per annum but this will largely depend on peace and stability in all areas in the region and the success of the proposed government programs of poverty eradication modernisation for agriculture. The following important changes are expected to impact on the forestry sector in the next 20 years:
Increased demand for forest products such as fuel wood and construction materials due to a rapid population growth in Uganda coupled with increased incomes. This is expected to accelerate deforestation. The most threatened forests are those located on privately owned land and the government owned forest plantations. It is expected that in 2020 there will be a shortage of sawn timber in Uganda.
Increased agricultural expansion into forested areas and woodlands to cater for the growing population.
Improved agricultural production through intensification of agriculture and an increased knowledge in productive agricultural methods will reduce the pressure to convert forestland into agricultural land. This is in line with the proposed modernisation of agriculture. Through this process it is expected that farm forestry will make significant contributions towards the provision of fuel-wood and poles for construction among other tree products in Uganda. It will also be instrumental in afforestating marginal lands.
Collaborative forestry management will be an important form of forestry management especially where land is communally owned.
Eco-tourism in Uganda will be more developed and better marketed by the private sector and it will be an important source of revenue. Natural forests will be managed more for their environmental values than for their productive functions.
There will be better regulations for the access to the genetic resources in our forests. Uganda will be earning money from bio-prospecting ventures using our bio-diversity. The country will also be in a better position to tap the global initiatives on forestry and environment protection to finance more investments in forestry.
Commercialisation of some NWFP will increase.
The government institutions involved in the management of forestry will be more coordinated with clearer roles and responsibilities. They will be more focused on facilitation than management.
Adoption of more non-timber materials in building construction and adoption of non-wood fuels to a large extent especially by the urban communities. This is assuming Uganda can sustain an economic growth of 7% as projected.
There is no doubt that Uganda has a high potential for forestry development that has not been adequately exploited. While there is an increased awareness of the environmental importance of trees, there are insufficient incentives to pursue tree planting and sustainable forestry management. The key issue therefore is how to motivate people to take a deeper interest in investing in forestry including sustainable management of the forest resource base. There is need to explore ways of narrowing the gap between policy formulation and implementation as well as to promote activities that reduce pressure and dependency on land and tree resources. The chapter on accomplishing the vision has made detailed recommendations to this effect.
