By Dorothy Kisaka 

Today, we join the rest of the world to celebrate the International Day of Forests with a call to the people of Kampala and the rest of the country to plant more trees and to preserve the ones we have.

All over the world, urban areas are responsible for an estimated 75% of carbon emissions which makes city-level action critical for global efforts to address the climate crisis.

Forests are an integral part of survival on earth. They play a very important role in the fight against climate change. 

Trees are critical in cleaning the air we breathe, filtering the water we drink, providing shades and sheltering us from heat effects. 

Trees are also a source of sustainable income. Trees provide nutritious food and are used for numerous medicinal purposes which improve our health.

Whenever it is hot in Kampala you will find many people under a tree shade which ultimately cools them down and reduces stress 

This years’ International Day of Forests Theme is “Forests and sustainable production and consumption.”

As Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) we plan on increasing the tree density in the city to 11 percent as our strategic objective for developing a green environmentally sustainable city, as per the KCCA Strategic Plan 2020-2025.

We encourage city dwellers to provide room for planting trees in the development plans for their land. 

Areas like Kololo, Nakasero, Mulago, Makerere have quite a good number of trees and they provide an impressive green cover in the city suburbs. 

KCCA has developed the First Online Tree directory in Uganda and this is freely accessible to the public on our website.

There is also the first Kampala Urban Green Infrastructure Ordinance which was passed by the Authority early last year.

KCCA is committed to continue pushing the Urban forestry campaign and will continue to dedicate resources towards improving Urban forestry in the city.

All the newly constructed roads will have trees planted on the sidelines and we are encouraging city dwellers to jealously protect them. 

A SMART city is alert to the benefits of green coverage for health and beautification and greening is a core part 
of the SMART City campaign.

In 2018, KCCA with the support of the European Union conducted a detailed tree audit in Kampala to help understand the tree density in some parts of Kampala, identify dangerous trees and the species diversity within Kampala. 

According to the KCCA database, we have over 328 tree species but only 20% are indigenous. We, therefore, need to plant more trees. 

We celebrate the fact that Kampala City was recognized as a 2020 Tree City by the Tree Cities of the World program thus making it the first African City to join this international network.

Being part of the Tree Cities of the World shows our willingness to be sustainability and urban forestry leader. 

By planting trees, we shall also help reduce stormwater management, the ensuing soil erosion resulting in floods, and increase erosion control.

As a city, we commit to creating more green spaces in Kampala by planting more trees to realise our vision of a sustainable, inclusive, and vibrant city.

The writer is the KCCA Executive Director