DEFORESTATION AN ENVIRONEMTAL PROBLEM IN UGANDA; A REVIEW OF THE UGANDA FORESTRY POLICY AND THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT POLICY

Transcription

1 DEFORESTATION AN ENVIRONEMTAL PROBLEM IN UGANDA; A REVIEW OF THE UGANDA FORESTRY POLICY AND THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT POLICY MAGALA RICHARD@2015 i

2 Table of Contents Table of Contents... i Executive summary... ii 1.0 Background Deforestation is an environmental problem Causes of deforestation in Uganda Forestry related policies Forestry policy National Environment Management Policy Policy interventions Conclusions References i

3 Executive summary The rate of deforestation in Uganda has sky rocketed and Uganda s forests are disappearing,, Uganda will not have forest in next 40 years. This has ushered in a number of environmental problems such as devastating impacts of climate change, soil degradation reduced biodiversity, degradation of water sheds, food insecurity due to exacerbated drought, loss of recreation, Loss of biological diversity. Uganda government as a response to the predicament in her aptitude put forward various policies, regulations, laws, statutes, among others that would regulate forests and natural resources exploitation. The Uganda Forestry Policy and National Environment Management Policy all have core objectives of promoting environmental sustainability of which forest ecosystems are part. The strategies laid down in these policies were so promising. What is neck-wracking is that even with a number of policies Uganda has put forward, together with well stipulated strategies; deforestation continues to claim large chunks of forest land in Uganda. This necessitated this policy review to point out the root causes of persistent deforestation in Uganda which could be due to the loop holes in these policies. And other causes such as; Overharvesting, Poor planning, weak regulation higher population growth rate, and inadequate implementation are drivers to the deforestation problem in Uganda. Dissemination of information and decentralization of environmental management as proposed in both policies is still lacking. Wide spread corruption, high level of impunity, inequitable sharing of forest resources coupled with limited government funding makes the policies remain superficial and never implemented. To reduce deforestation, formulation of new policies is not necessary rather addressing the loopholes in the existing policies as suggested in this document are necessary. Such as improving Information dissemination and funding to ease policy implementation, decentralization of forestry rights and powers, sensitization of land owners and users about benefits of conservation and associated dangers of deforestation, Environment impact assessment should be conducted by independent body, there is need to provide financial incentives to promote farm forestry, boasting forestry products and service valuation The policy that relates to deforestation is also affected by other policies such as the land policy, population policy among others and it is also affected by other sectors hence there needs to be streamlining of environmental issues such as deforestation in all national policy and institutional frameworks so as to curb the issue of deforestation ii

4 1.0 Background Deforestation in Uganda has sky rocketed (Rhett A. Butler, 2006) and therefore, Uganda s Forest and tree resources are rapidly disappearing(hamilton, 2000) yet Forests are one of the pivotal and vital ecosystems on earth that acts as biodiversity banks (R.J, 1992) NFA in 2005 reported that Uganda s forests cover as about 24% of the total land mass covering about 4.9 million hectares. Of these total of 4.9 million hectares of forests and woodlands in Uganda, 64% (1, 265, 471 ha) are found outside the Permanent Forest Estate (PFE), (land set aside for forestry activities in perpetuity, managed by private landowners and regulated by local governments). The PFE is 1.9 million ha, of which 61.4% is managed by the National Forestry Authority (NFA), 33.6% is managed by Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA); 4.7% of the PFE is jointly managed by NFA and UWA and 0.3% by local governments. These play significant roles in the livelihoods of people of Ugandan people and the economic development at large Forests provide various products and services the products include wood and wood fuel, food, medicines and services encompasses; climate change amelioration (IPCC, 2007); water and air purification, nutrient recycling, protection of water catchment, steep slopes and river banks, soil stabilization among other roles. In developing countries such as Uganda, rural livelihoods is highly dependent on forest resources Due to the various roles forest provide, Uganda s forest reserves were gazetted with the aim of ensuring continuous supply of forest goods and services to the people of Uganda (Obua, Agea, & Ogwal, 2010). Forest gazettment was followed with enactment of various policies, laws and institution to protect these valuable forests resources. However, despite the various conservation efforts the country s forest resource continue to be degraded and this jeopardizes both individual livelihoods and the country s economic development. Forests are continually being exploited to satisfy human desire in a manner that is unsustainable and thus unsustainable exploitation of these forests has led to the dwindling of the forest cover. An estimated 18 million acres (7.3 million hectares) of forest are lost each year at a global scale (FAO, 2010). For the case of Uganda, forest cover has declined from 5 million hectares to 3.6 million hectares between 1990 and Forest degradation is the commonly used term that describes this phenomenon and the major component of forest degradation is deforestation. Deforestation has been defined as the conversion of forest to an alternative permanent non-forested land use such as agriculture, grazing or urban development (Chakravarty, Ghosh, & Suresh, 2011). 1

5 In Uganda, Closed-canopy tropical forest once covered 20% of the country, but deforestation has reduced this to just 3% (Howard et al. 2000). Uganda lost 18% of this remaining forest between 1990 and 2000 (Howard et al. 2000). The most recent estimate suggests that the annual rate of loss of tropical high forest in Uganda is 7% (Pomeroy & Tushabe 2004). According to Kayanja & Byarugaba (2001), Deforestation is real and they predict that Uganda s forest cover will be wiped out by 2040 if the deforestation rate is not properly dealt with. This makes deforestation an environmental tragedy in Uganda and hence worth adequate attention. Its persistence is likely to cause effects such as; loss of species Uganda s 11% and 7% of the known world s total of species of birds and mammals respectively that do live in forests and but are losing their habitats due to deforestation, increased carbon emissions because healthy forests absorb greenhouse gasses and carbon emissions that are caused by human civilization and contribute to global climate change (IPCC, 2007), disruption of hydrological, nutrient, and other bio-geological cycles, loss government revenue. Other impacts will be increased poverty due to the disrupted livelihoods, soil erosion among others. Table 1: Forests cover change ( ) Forest type Area 2005(ha) Area 1990(ha) Change(ha) Annual change(ha) % change %annual change Broad leaved 14, conifer 18,741 16, TMF stocked TMF stocked well low 600, , ,061 81,367 5, woodland 2,777,998 3,974,508 1, , Total cover forest 3,604,176 4, , , Source: NFA-NBA Draft report 2009 Given the current gaps and myriads of loop holes within the existing Uganda s relevant policies to deforestation as well as inappropriate implementation mechanisms and strategies of these policies, in this paper therefore, we review the National Forestry Policy (2001) and the National 2

6 Environment Management Policy (1995) in relation to deforestation. We shall point out weaknesses in these policies as well as propose possible interventions to fill up the identified loopholes. All this will be with the aim of curbing degradation of forests 2.0 Deforestation is an environmental problem Uncontrolled degradation and conversion of forests to other types of land use are already threatening Uganda s forest ecosystems (Kayanja & Byarugaba, 2001). As a fact, Uganda is at risk of losing all its forests if deforestation in Uganda continues at its present rate there would be no forests left in 40 years (NEMAA, 2008)(NEMA, 2008). At the current rate Uganda has already seen about 1.5 ha of forests dwindled since 1990 to 2005 leaving only 3.5 ha of forests. FAO (2010) indicated negative increase in the annual rate of deforestation in Uganda i.e %, -2.39%, -2.73% for , and respectively. This indicates that the rates must be much higher today (2015) than before. According to NEMA 2008 the acceleration of deforestation is attributed to the population boom which resulted into need of land for expansion of settlement (urbanization) and farming land. Other reasons of deforestation include; poor rural electrification and costly electricity which makes 89% of Ugandans to use firewood and charcoal as the main sources of fuel to cook. Large amounts of forests are also spent as trees are cut for timber and wood because the construction industry still greatly use timber rather than steel and other substitutes The people in the rural areas are among the first hit by the environmental negative effect of deforestation which include climate change, soil degradation reduced biodiversity and loss of recreation. Loss of biological diversity (e.g. over 30% of Uganda tropical high forests are classified as degraded), Animal species are threatened due to loss of wildlife habitats, and degradation of water- shed areas is leading to deterioration of the quality of life and reduction of the options for development, Farmers are already struggling to adapt to the rapidly changing and increasingly erratic weather patterns since rain is not falling when it is supposed to and drought has left many farmers struggling to find enough food to feed their families, In addition In many districts of Uganda e.g. Tororo, Iganga, Nakasongola, Arua, Soroti, Kumi,P alisa, Rakai, Ajumani, the declining forest cover has resulted in a fuel wood deficit (NFA, 2009) hence rising costs and increased burdens on women and children who collect firewood. Therefore, if the 3

7 situation is not reversed the knock on effect will be catastrophic and contributing to exacerbating soil degradation, decline food security, disease and conflict. Urgent policy measures must be taken by the government and NEMA to mobilize the population for the conservation of the forest resources through methods like afforestation and reforestation and to educate the population about the dangers of a degraded environment due to deforestation A number of Environmental policies have been established in Uganda and some of these are aimed at reducing the increasing rate of deforestation. Environmental policies facilitate monitoring and regulating forest resource use and hence harmonize utilization and preservation. Among many others include the Forestry Policy (2001) and the National Environment Management Policy (1995). In as much as some of these policies do exist, they have a myriad of loop holes that are also worsened by the low efficiency in implementation of actions suggested by the policies. The issue of deforestation is not fully addressed by the policy statements and in other cases the strategies used are feeble to the extent that they cannot comprehensively address the problem. This is study review therefore, attempted to address the weakness and the loop holes within these policies and appropriate recommendations necessary to address them have been clearly stipulated. 3.0 Causes of deforestation in Uganda Understanding drivers of deforestation and degradation is fundamental for the development of relevant policies and measures (Hosonuma et al., 2012) that aim to alter current trends in forest activities toward a more climate and biodiversity friendly outcome. A number of factors have been identified as major causes of the reduction in forest cover over the century (Kayanja & Byarugaba, 2001) In Uganda, deforestation can be linked to both direct and indirect drivers or underlying causes (Kayanja & Byarugaba, 2001). Direct drivers of deforestation include; conversion of forest land to agriculture, grazing land and forest resource degradation due to firewood collection, pitsawying and charcoal burning. According to Kayanja and Byakagaba (2001) deforestation is rampant on the 70% of forests on private land which is not regulated and managed. On the central forest reserves conversion into agriculture, is due to weak monitoring mechanisms Poor planning, weak regulation and inappropriate processing technology have resulted in the unsustainable harvesting of forest products, and the degradation of the resource base.(kayanja & 4

8 Byarugaba, 2001) The problem of overharvesting manifests itself when the annual harvesting rate exceeds the carrying capacity. These problems are attributed to limited institutional capacity and limited resource in both central and local government to improve planning and regulation, and little incentive for the private sector to improve its performance in the absence of firm regulation and the enforcement of professional standards. There was also much clearance of forest cover to make settlements in the Forest Reserves during the troubled 1970s and 1980s (Obua et al., 2010). Residual encroachment of the government lands still continues(kayanja & Byarugaba, 2001). Encroachment on central forest reserves has been partly caused by not clearly demarcated boundaries most of which have not been re-opened this has bred the current confusion. Therefore dangers of encroachment in forest reserves as a direct result of poor governance and lack of vision about the benefits for forest resources to the people (Werikhe 2008) In addition, Urbanization and industrial growth are putting pressure on the forest estate. Many urban and peri-urban reserves are under threat of being degazetted. The increasing demand for industrial land has led to the degazetting of nearly 10,000 ha, which will result in a permanent net reduction of the forest estate unless alternative non-forested areas are identified and developed. The most affected forest reserves are those close to the urban and industrial centers, for example Namanve forest near the capital, Kampala. Underlying factors; a number of factors that underlies the decline in the forest resource base and these includes; Policy deficiencies relating to the private sector and local communities over land tenure, access rights and responsibilities for resource management For instance, much of the deforestation occurring in the districts of Buganda is on mailo land. There are no clear mechanisms which allow the Uganda Forest Department to regulate the private forests on these lands Environmentally harmful mismanagement including, for example, lack of adequate forest- fire control measures (e.g. the seasonal burning for fresh pasture in the rangelands of Karamoja/Teso, Mbarara/Ntungamo, and Masindi/Nakasongora areas), There are market failures, including inappropriate royalty rates, poor market information, trade restrictions and hidden subsidies which distort the markets for forest products. 5

9 There is poor regulation by weakened institutions, which lack funding, and capacity the institutions mandated to manage forest reserves are inadequately funded and they lack enough human resources to implement the government policies of protecting forests however even these institution are being affected by corruption which takes several form that relates to granting concessions, embezzlement of institution funds among others Population growth and migration has increased demand for agricultural land and firewood(chakravarty et al., 2011) energy, and rural poverty restricts the ability to invest in sustainable land use practices. The population growth rate of 3.4% per anum leads to exerted high pressure on the forest resources in order to derive people s livelihoods, higher population makes land for settlement and agriculture inadequate and consequently resort to the forest land. Therefore, Deforestation has been reported to be more in- tense in areas with high population densities. In districts such as Mukono, Mpigi and Luwero, major tracts of land have been cleared in the last decade. Much of this vegetation has secondary woody biomass Higher poverty levels over 46% of the people in Uganda live below the poverty line (FA0, 2001) poor people are driven by the higher demand to sustain their livelihoods from the forest resources because they lack alternative sources of income(mwavu, 2007) as a consequence depletion of the forests become inevitable 4.0 Forestry related policies 4.1 Forestry policy This policy was first developed in 1929 and was last reviewed in Its main objective is to address the forestry issues and incorporate them in national development. Some policy statements as these pointed out herein below need to be reformed to better achieve its intended objectives The forestry policy did not put down enough strategies for capacity development through training of resource management agents to enable them function efficiently, as a result government's capacity to deliver forestry advisory services has greatly reduced. For instance in Uganda, Professional and technical training in forestry is conducted by Makerere University and Nyabyeya Forest College respectively. These produce mainly management and lower level supervisory staff, as there is inadequate practical training. Further, there is no forestry worker 6

10 training programme, leading to inefficient forestry operations. A revamped and effective extension and advisory support service is crucial to achieve greater impact countrywide in tree growing and more efficient management and use of energy and wood resources. The government will actively protect, maintain and sustainably manage the current Permanent Forest Estate. This is very important as so many people would use the forests for their interests which are not in line with the forestry policy objectives. However, in spite of its relevance, little has been done as many natural forests are being degraded. Therefore, follow up should made to the relevant authorities who are responsible for ensuring forestry sustainable use. Policy statement 2 states the role and commitment of the government in promoting the sustainable management of natural forests on private lands. This is a crucial point especially in recent times where there is rapid population growth rate, increased agriculture land use and urbanization. If no policies and regulations are put in are not regulated and without deliberate action, natural forests on private lands will continue to decline. However, this is contrary on what is observed since many forests are being cut down and land given to investors, in other areas natural forests on private lands have been cut down and planted with commercial trees such as Eucalyptus. Example is Bulayi forest near Lake Nabugabo. Therefore, there is urgency of public education and advisory services to raise the level of awareness among landowners of the value and multiple uses of natural forests, the ways that trees can be integrated into farming systems, and how fallow farmland can be brought back to forest cover. While the implementation strategies mention about many issues to be addressed towards attaining the policy statement (Forestry Policy 2001, Section 3), little has been done on ground. For instance, development of robust community institutions to ensure transparent decisionmaking, the adequate representation and participation of women, men and vulnerable groups and the equitable sharing of forest benefits and responsibilities have not been realized. It is usually a small section of the community especially men that do benefit from forestry activities and others are marginalized. This affects collaborative forest management and thus over all blow for sustainability developmental purposes. Though the policy provides for the government to integrate agroforestry into school curricula and adult literacy material as a strategy for enhancing farm forestry, barely little or no practical 7

11 work is observed on the ground. Therefore students and pupils do not clearly learn the vital functions, services and products of forests and trees, and why they should be grown and sustainably managed. This greatly narrows the knowledge base among the public. There are so many schools not only in the city centers, peri-urban or rural area, that neither possesses trees nor demonstration gardens. Yes agroforestry is taught in class but learners need to appreciate the role of trees in the environment through practical demonstrations, vising private tree nurseries, study tours to gazzeted natural forests which will change their mindset and look at trees as a treasure in a society. Forestry policy statement 6 states that the government will promote and support farm forestry in order to boost land productivity, increase farm incomes, alleviate pressures on natural forests and improve food security the government recognizes important opportunities for tree farming on private land, for firewood, poles, non-wood products, fruit trees and even timber. However it is highly noticed that the poor people have immediate pressing needs to the extent that may not allow trees to mature and also can t afford the cost involved. The policy does has no any formal arrangement of providing financial incentive to the poor people to enable them grow trees and sustain their livelihoods and as a positive consequence reduce pressure on natural forests. There is also a need to develop capacity of individuals including and not limited to forest owners, women's and youth groups, to support the management of private forests and integrate trees into farming systems. This is evident in high deforestation rates by the youth who are able bodied and energetic to cut down the trees and use it for several purposes such as timber. Policy statement seven of the Uganda forestry policy highlights the commitments of the policy in conserving and managing forest biodiversity. This would be conducted with support of the local and national socioeconomic development and international obligations. This policy statement is crucial because much as we need to maintain nature, this biodiversity has a great intrinsic value. It is also important to human health and wealth, for example by providing traditional plant medicines, wild relatives of domestic plants, a variety of ecosystems and species important in the tourism industry, and potential opportunities for Ugandans to adapt to local and global change. The major blow to this statement is the lacking implementation strategy about how to ensure the survival of forest biodiversity and to balance this with the pressing development needs of the country. 8

12 The forestry policy also relies on protection of biodiversity on protected area, this is important because of the high biodiversity harbored by these forests, however there exist a significant amount of biodiversity outside protected areas which also needs adequate attention There has been failure by the responsible authorities to increase knowledge of forest biological diversity; they have failed to express the forest importance into numerical values for the lay man to understand the forest importance. An example is the resent give away of Mabira Forest for sugar cane plantation because it would have resulted into creation of job opportunities and production of more sugar. None of responsible authorities could come out with a clear view about the forest value that a common man could understand. The policy should be reformed such that a strong body, which is independent of government influence so that it performs its duties efficiently without politicization of forestry issues. Lack of collaboration between sectorial institutions concerned with biodiversity conservation (Forestry, Wildlife, Fisheries and Agriculture) has hampered the achievement of policy statement 7 for instance, there has always been conflicts between the UWA and NFA on the control and management of national parks since most of the national parks occupy some part of the forest land. Nevertheless some implementations have been well executed for example to support conservation initiatives in priority forests with high biodiversity value, this has been done through creation of protected areas (Bwindi Impenetrable Forest) and promotion of world heritage sites (Mountain Rwenzori, National Park etc) as a way of conserving the endemic features within these reserves. The Uganda forestry policy pledges to protect Watersheds and establishment and rehabilitation of forests, (Policy statement eight).this policy statement is an under estimation of the forest reserve, not only do we have to protect the watersheds but the entire forest reserve. Thus it should be more inclusive of all land that has forests other than protected areas as these are smaller areas and more so trees don t exist in only protected areas. The government s drive to promote urban forestry (Policy 9) is very crucial in improving the livelihoods and well-being of urban people, urban landscape and environment. This will be vital in mitigating effects of pollution and green house effects that contribute to climate change. 9

13 However, this is not enough since urban population being the major users of charcoal; they have a significant contribution to higher rates of deforestation. Due to limited energy alternatives, city dwellers need to be sensitized in the use of energy that conserve the environment rather than relying on only charcoal 4.2 National Environment Management Policy Uganda is a third world country whose majority population depends on natural resources for their livelihoods. Due to over dependence on the natural resources, there is an increase in soil degradation, deforestation and loss of biodiversity. This policy was formulated in 1994 to address the lack of environmental awareness, low levels of technology, poverty, inadequacy of existing policies and legislation combined with a lack of inter-sectorial coordination and cooperation amongst different sectors. To accomplish this, policies are needed which address cross-sectorial environmental management issues. Some of the statements are reviewed below: Chapters 3.1 and 3.2 such as Land and Resource Tenure, and Land Use Policy and Planning, identifies Uganda s tenure consisting of a mixture of customary tenure, private mailo land, freehold and leasehold. This system fails to provide security of tenure needed for sustainable socio-economic development, given the high rate of population growth which is exerting increasing pressure on the land. If the people were given rightful information on the sustainable management of forest as the government pledged in chapter 3, then our forests would still stand if being put in the right use. However, ignorance being a common disease among many people, it is continuously observed when natural forests are being cut down to plant pine, eucalyptus. This calls to strengthen and clearly define Legal and institutional guidelines on information management. In addition, it is very strategic to incorporate and utilize existing indigenous knowledge and practices with regard to environment and natural resource management. For example in livestock communities rarely will you find the whole forest cut down, some trees are preserved for specific purpose purposes. However, unless the causes of deforestation are clearly analyzed and being addressed, this problem will continue till there are no more forests to degrade 10

14 Another success is the effective collaboration of sectorial institutions concerned with biodiversity conservation. National Environmental Management Authority unites Forestry, Game, National Parks and Fisheries bodies thus enhancing coordination, elimination of duplication and conflict since all these three levels of biodiversity conservation are incorporated into this institution s policies and programs. On the other hand many of the implementation strategies have registered a failure and these include: failure to identify valuable areas of terrestrial biodiversity outside of protected areas, and in consultation with local communities and land owners, explore means of protecting such areas, including gazetting as protected areas, purchase of land-use rights. The collaboration between areas under protected management and neighboring communities are still poor due to rampant alarming conflicts concerning land use rights, exploitative user methods. Local communities being the immediate users of these resources, they are neither consulted nor involved in planning, management nor decision making process. It would also carry a sense if a policy is enacted which ensures that a portion of benefits from the Protected Area system is offered to the local communities through employment opportunities. Development activities and land use practices have impacts on the environment (Chapter Environmental Impact Assessment, EIA), therefore their assessment and evaluation is essential. Although Environmental Impact Assessment is not an entirely new thing in Uganda, its use has not yet been fully understood and appreciated by resource users. The major challenge to this chapter is the expense of carrying out the EIA and lack of an independent body to carry out the EIA process in addition to the lengthy process. The strategies for this chapter has failed at a great extent, in the public and private sector developmental projects, EIA has not received attention and thus not addressed very well. EIA foresights environmental consequences should be recognized early and taken into account in project design. 5.0 Policy interventions As part of efforts to ensure effective management of Uganda s environment and natural resources, several policies and institutions have been put in place Dissemination of information and decentralization of environmental management as proposed in these policies is still lacking. 11

15 Wide spread corruption, high level of impunity, inequitable sharing of forest resources coupled with limited government funding makes the policies remain superficial and never implemented. And therefore, the country s natural resources continue to be degraded, and this jeopardizes both individual livelihoods and the country s economic development. Below, are some of the interventions that should be done to address the loopholes in the forestry policy and Uganda national environmental management policy. Conserving biodiversity basing on protected areas alone is not sufficient, other conservation efforts outside protected areas can also be mitigative such as valuing biodiversity on private land where we have the highest rate of biodiversity loss. These acts as an incentive to protect the biodiversity resources in the forests and such initiatives also help solve the underlying causes of deforestation like high poverty rates. This action can be implemented by setting aside a biodiversity fund through government agencies such as NFA and NEMA. In addition expansion of protected to include more areas with forests is a better option Comprehensive implementation of the international conventions relevant to biodiversity protection and forest resource conservation, proper implementation needs adequate monitoring and measuring of performance of the expectation and therefore in any convention there need a commissions within the relevant departments of ministry of water lands and environment responsible to follow up the appropriate implementation of these conventions Formation of one body to govern all biodiversity conservation issues in the country. This would help to check on the deforestation rate since it will eliminate unrealistic competition amongst sectors and uniform goals will be set. It also unites the existing sectors concerning biodiversity conservation. Promoting activities that reduce the pressure off the forest like sericulture, butterfly farming, improved bee-keeping, development of fodder banks, bio-intensive agriculture and farm forestry. And should be extremely active and vigorous around the forests resources Increase per capita income and check on the population growth: This is central tenet in reducing deforestation in Uganda. This is only possible if there is increased income and improved literacy levels because with improved standards of living, over dependence on forest products for example as a source of energy is checked and land use change due to literacy. 12

16 Environmental goods and service trading: Many developed countries and organizations have developed programmes to curb deforestation. This is mainly through Clean Development Mechanisms and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation. Private land owners with natural forest cover on their land should be given direct monetary or other incentives to encourage them to limit deforestation. Forest product and service valuation: monetary digits are more easily understood by the public. Forest goods and services should be explored and a value attached to them so that a lay-man can understand. This can be done through imposing realistic prices on forest products and services, forest rent and forest productivity by the government this is quite difficult but environmental valuation methods like comparing alternative artificial cost of filtering water can be easily done to get the actual value of forest services. Increase the area and standard of management of protected areas: The protected areas are crucial in addressing biodiversity conservation. Protected areas alone, however, are not sufficient to conserve biodiversity. They should be considered alongside, and as part of, a wider strategy to conserve biodiversity. Support, reforms and advocacy: Campaigns opposing deforestation and to reform agencies which fund such schemes should be supported. Local campaigns against specific mining, dams, industrial and tourist developments should be supported. Further reform of the World Bank and other such organizations is largely the demand of time. Investment in research, education and extension services: Educating stakeholders helps them understand how to prevent and reduce adverse environmental effects associated with deforestation. Extension services are also crucial because certain class of people have the information, however passing it on to the stakeholders is another challenge that can be addressed through extension. 13

17 The government in addition is required to put in place a regulatory framework, which will create a positive investment climate to encourage private sector investment in commercial forest plantations. The government is required, amongst other tasks, to set out priority areas for the development of carbon storage plantations in different areas of Uganda. Commercial forest planation can reduce pressure exerted on the natural forest which is threatening biodiversity Imposing harsh punishments and penalties on those destroying the forest: for instance all those caught in any act of destroying the forest should be forced to replant or carry out enrichment planting under the supervision of NFA or NEMA at the same time meet the costs involved In the process failure to do should face the court and be succumbed to heavy imprisonment sentences Uganda lacks proper certification and audit guidelines therefore national initiative institute should be developed to define the international standards in relation to the national standards. These should be in line with the local situation of Uganda and in doing so all stake holders must be involved in the process of developing these guidelines Revision of the EIA process and procedure from the current system of allowing project owners pay for the EIA process which compromises or biases the outcomes to establishing and Independent body that should carry out EIA processes, auditing and certification, these body (ies) should be contracted to carry out the assessment process without the payment from the project owners in order to avoid bias in the EIA process. The body should be paid by the government of Uganda under the Ministry of Lands, Water and Environment. The bureaucracy involved in the initial stages of applying for the EIA, audit and certification should be checked. This helps in the shortening of the lengthy process which will attract many people to apply for EIA and in so doing they help to control environmental degradation and deforestation. Decentralization of forest rights and powers: Collaborative forest management can only be a success if powers from the central governance are decentralized to the local communities. This promotes a sense of belonging amongst the local communities and tends to care for the forest resource instead of exploiting it unsustainably. 14

18 Perception quality and awareness: the best weapon to fighting everything is the human brain, if the people of Uganda are informed of their roles and the role of forests in their lives, deforestation will be reduced. This can be done through improving literacy levels. Develop updated the information system on land tenure systems and land use and land use changes is to avoid inadequate knowledge of the changes in these parameters. Inadequate. Knowledge of how much land, where it is and what it is composed of seems to be straightforward but surprisingly this most basic information is not always available. It is not possible to properly manage a forest ecosystem without first understanding where it exists. Support, reforms and advocacy: Campaigns opposing land use changes (deforestation) and reform agencies which fund such schemes should be supported. Local campaigns against specific mining, dams, industrial and tourist developments should be supported. Policy and regulatory measures-enforcement and compliance: Many policies and regulatory measures have been established but need to be effectively enforced. These policies should be such that they encourage local and institutional participation in forest conservation. Formal and informal enforcement and compliance measures can be used which involve negotiation, warnings, cancelling work orders, notices of violation, fines, arrests and court actions. Sensitization of land owners and users about benefits of conservation and dangers which may be brought about by misuse of such forest resources for example food production is important but effects of climate change may be long term, soil erosion due to deforestation can drastically lead to decline in food production. The government should consider strengthening land tenure rights through helping tenants by occupants secure land tittles, and the people evicted need their land rights secured where they are resettled In addition on focusing on commercial tree planting, the government through NFA should also provide incentives to enable the poor to invest in forest conservation and meet their short term needs such incentives may take the form of forestry based enterprises and saving scheme that meet their short term needs to provide a secure place for the poor to save and borrow in modest amounts. However for these small scale enterprises too lead to conservation and avoid 15

19 deforestation, they must be commercially viable, done on a large scale and capable of delivering significant benefits to the community. The development of local forest bases enterprises represents an opportunity for strengthening the livelihoods of the poor, forest dependent people at the same time providing economic incentives to conserve forests Strengthen anti-corruption efforts to protect the forests since implementation of the government policies is marred by corruption tendencies with the institutions responsible for policy implementation, in addition training environmental police with some basic form of environment and natural resource protection is equally important. The human resources within the environmental institutions such as NFA, NEMA, and UWA among others should also be stepped up and at the same time they should be supported financially. Wage increment does not only motivate them, but also can help curb down corruption in these institutions The policy that relates to deforestation is also affected by other policies such as the land policy, population policy among others and it is also affected by other sectors hence there needs to be streamlining of environmental issues such as deforestation in all national policy and institutional frameworks so as to pull down the rate of deforestation is an environment problem in Uganda Conclusions Despite the existence of forestry related policies such the Uganda forestry policy (2001) and the National Environment Management Policy (1995) which were designed to protect and preserve forest ecosystems, there still exists rampant deforestation in Uganda today and the policies that currently exist are part of the problem. These need to be reformed as suggested above and the reform should involve all stakeholders so that implementation is simplified. However institution irregularities such as corruption need to be given adequate attention for any success of reviewed policies to be achieved. 16

20 References Chakravarty, S., Ghosh, S. K., & Suresh, C. P. (2011). Deforestation : Causes, Effects and Control Strategies, Edward, Nector, M. (2007). impact, in communities, diversity reserve, and regeneration budongo north- western uganda Edward Nector Mwavu A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree. Food Agricultural Organisation, (2010) The United Nations global forest resource assessment and the state of the world s forest cover; forest cover, Disturbances affecting forest land and value of forests. FAO, Rome Hamilton, A. C. (2000). Deforestation in Uganda. Oxford UNIversity Press. Hosonuma, N., Herold, M., Sy, V. De, Fries, R. S. De, Brockhaus, M., Verchot, L., Romijn, E. (2012). An assessment of deforestation and forest degradation drivers in developing countries (Vol ). Howard, P.C Nature Conservation in Uganda'sTropical Forest Reserves. IUCN tropical forest series. gland Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, (2007) Food, fibre and forest products and Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, Kayanja, F. I. B., & Byarugaba, D. (2001). Disappearing forests of Uganda: The way forward. Current Science, 81(8), Ministry of Natural Resources. (1995). The National Environment Management Policy for Uganda, (March), Ministry of Water, Lands and Environmet (2001). The Forestry policy for Uganda National environment Managemen Authority report (2008). State Of Environmental Report. National Forestry Authority (2008) Strategic action plan for the period to with priorities for the first five years. Government of Uganda, Kampala. National Forestry authority, Land cover of Uganda (2009): First draft report National Forestry Authority, (2005) Uganda s Forests, functions and classification. NFA, Kamapla, Uganda 17

21 Obua, J., Agea, J. G., & Ogwal, J. J. (2010). Status of forests in Uganda. African Journal of Ecology, 48(4), R.J, J. (1992). The influence of deforestation and selective logging operations on planta diversity in paua new Guinea. in tropical deforestation and species extiction by Whitmore T C and J. A Sayer p. Chapman and Hall. Rhett A. Butler. (2006). Deforestation rates jump in Uganda and Burundi, fall in Rwanda. Studies, F. O. (2001). Foresry outlook studies in Africa (FOSA), (December). Werikhe, S. E. W., Socio-demographic survey of the Mbwa river tract in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, south western Uganda. A basis for the relocation of farmers utilising the Mbwa River Tract. Report submitted to the United States Aid for International Development. Uganda Mission, Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Uganda National Park and the World bank 18