ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPLICATIONS

The overall picture in Uganda is that there will definitely be increased demand for forest products and services in the next twenty years. It is therefore expected that within the next 20 years, there will be more dependence on the forestry sector. This trend will have the following implications:

More employment opportunities in the forestry sector as more people seek to exploit the increasing demand for biomass fuels and timber for construction. This trend may spark off increased establishment of woodlots and peri-urban plantations in densely populated and peri-urban centres. It is therefore expected that there will be increased contribution of the forestry sector to household incomes and hence greater contribution to GDP;

The establishment of more forest plantations to exploit the current trends will lead to less dependence on agriculture for a livelihood by the rural population. This will lead to more agricultural intensification and increase the environmental contributions of forestry. Marginal lands will benefit from increased tree planting and agroforestry will be actively practiced for commercial gain. Tea and tobacco industries are already promoting tree planting by putting in place more effective forestry extension programs and encouraging and training farmers to plant trees to meet the energy demand in a sustainable manner. Farmers in densely populated areas also have woodlots on marginal lands;

The potential of farm forestry to provide labour intensive off farm employment makes it a feasible investment given that shortage of land in Uganda is more of a perception than a reality. This reduces pressure on the land for cultivation and grazing activities;

Trees will also be grown more for their multipurpose functions and their contribution to food security is likely to increase. Fruit trees will be more prominently propagated. PMA will also promote this trend;

As the debate on climate mitigation gains momentum, there is a likely hood that tree planting will gain prominence for climate mitigation;

The conservation of biodiversity and the promotion of ecotourism will be more prominent in Uganda and this will increase the forestry sector’s contribution to GDP as it potential for bio prospecting and tourism are exploited.

The commercialisation of some NWFP will provide a source of income to some rural communities;

The functions of the Uganda wildlife Authority and the Forest Authority will be more clearly spelt out. They will focus more on facilitating the sustainable management of the forest resource while leaving the productive and management functions for the private sector and local communities;

The private sector and local communities will be more involved in the management of the forest resource base than ever before. Collaborative forest management, joint forest management, privatisation of forest plantations are some of the ongoing trends that are likely to gain momentum and change the face of forestry in Uganda;

Forestry research has already been integrated into agricultural research in Uganda. It is more demand driven and aims at serving the needs of PMA. The Forest Research Institute (FORI) is under the Ministry of Agriculture;

Multi disciplinary research is now more prominent with participatory research methods more in use than the old traditional methods;

Efforts are also under way to devolve some government functions in the forestry sector to sub-national levels of government. The government is committed to divestment of a number of central government departments among which is the forest department. Natural resource management, including some aspects of forestry is a decentralized service to district and sub-district levels. Agriculture, which is the natural home for farm forestry, has already been decentralized;

The government is currently interested in the privatisation of industrial timber plantations and divesting farm forestry to more frontline agencies and levels that have a closer rapport with the peasant households. These will focus more on implementation through more collaborative and participatory mechanisms (MFPED, 1999).