Call for gender-inclusive land laws to tackle climate crisis

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Uganda is hosting a landmark national dialogue that has brought together women parliamentarians, policymakers, and regional development experts to address the interconnected crises of gender inequality, insecure land rights, and vulnerability to climate change.

Convened at Kampala Serena Hotel under the theme “Gender, Land and Climate Change Resilience,” the two-day meeting (June 25–26) aims to reignite calls for legislative reforms, grassroots empowerment, and regional cooperation to secure women’s land rights and strengthen climate resilience across Uganda and the wider IGAD region.

IGAD on regional inequality

Dr Victoria Anib Majur Achut, head of the social development unit at IGAD, delivered an address on behalf of the IGAD executive secretary, Dr Workneh Gebeyehu, highlighting the stark realities facing women in the region.

“Over 90% of women in the IGAD region lack formal land ownership. This restricts their ability to invest in long-term agricultural sustainability and access financial services,” she said, further noting, “Land rights are foundational to food security, climate adaptation, and women’s economic independence.”

Dr Anib lamented structural inequalities and cultural norms that silence women’s voices in land governance and environmental decision-making:

“In rural Uganda, women contribute up to 70% of labour in subsistence farming, yet their work remains unremunerated and their land rights insecure.”

Referencing IGAD’s gender and power analyses conducted in Karamoja (Uganda), Mandera (Kenya), and Tadjoura (Djibouti), she said the data consistently shows that subnational structures marginalise women’s agency.

“Through this dialogue, we seek to co-create policies that reflect the lived realities of grassroots women and foster legislative systems that uphold their rights,” she affirmed, reiterating IGAD’s commitment through its Land Governance Programme.

Ministry of Lands remarks

Dorcas Okalany, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development, emphasised the strategic importance of the dialogue.

She described it as an opportunity to connect the dots between land governance, gender equity, and climate resilience.

“This dialogue is aimed at enhancing understanding, building capacity for gender analysis of sector budgets, and identifying policy entry points,” Okalany noted. She reaffirmed Uganda’s collaboration with IGAD and other ministries.

“The effects of climate change are fast affecting our communities. Yet, most of the population still survives on land through agriculture. Women, especially, remain the most disadvantaged in terms of land ownership, despite being the majority in the farming sector,” she noted.

Okalany stressed that high-level engagements must translate into tangible action at the grassroots level.

“This meeting is about identifying challenges and generating recommendations that can be championed by parliamentarians with support from government ministries and IGAD,” she added.



Land and climate at the core of development

Naome Kabanda, acting director of land management at the Ministry of Lands, provided a comprehensive overview of the legal, cultural, and climatic contexts shaping Uganda’s land issues.

“Uganda’s total surface area is 241,550 km², with over 80% being arable land. But 70–80% of this land is held under customary tenure, passed down through patriarchal inheritance systems,” she said.

She highlighted contradictions between legal provisions and realities on the ground, noting, “Although 26% of titled land belongs to women, discriminatory customary norms persist. Legal harmonisation efforts face resistance, slow implementation, and a lack of gender-disaggregated data.”

Kabanda underscored the growing climate threats—droughts in Karamoja and floods in Butaleja, Kasese, and Mt Elgon—which are compounding land insecurity and straining social cohesion.

“These climate shocks have pushed women to walk up to 10 kilometres for water and firewood. They shoulder increasing labour burdens while being excluded from decisions on land use and climate adaptation.”

Despite these challenges, she outlined several opportunities, including adoption of the “6Rs” (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Refuse, Rethink, Repair), climate-smart agriculture, access to climate finance, land use planning, zoning, and land restoration.

“Empowering women and youth through land tenure and knowledge is central to building community-based resilience,” Kabanda said.

Legislative action and gender equity urged

Delivering a rousing speech, Sarah Opendi, Chairperson of the Uganda Women Parliamentary Association (UWOPA), framed the land and climate crisis as one of the greatest challenges to Uganda’s sustainable development.

“Climate change has disrupted agriculture, increased population mobility, and triggered land conflicts and evictions. Women, children, and persons with disabilities bear the brunt of these overlapping crises,” she said.

Opendi identified five key sectors where climate change intersects with land: agriculture, forestry, water, coastal regions, and energy.

She noted that these disruptions have driven urban sprawl, informal settlements in flood-prone areas, and degradation of protected ecosystems.

“Uganda’s urban expansion is forcing vulnerable women into hazard-prone zones like wetlands and floodplains,” she said. “Government must integrate watershed protection into planning, enforce regulations, and promote climate-resilient housing.”

Opendi proposed a comprehensive set of recommendations, including strengthening enforcement of gender-equitable land laws (especially under customary systems), promoting women’s leadership in climate governance, investing in gender-disaggregated data for improved policy planning, and expanding women’s access to climate finance and agricultural insurance.

Other suggestions included mainstreaming gender in climate finance mechanisms, enhancing inter-agency coordination among land, environment, and gender ministries, and raising public awareness on women’s land rights and climate risks.

“We must launch mass awareness campaigns in local languages and involve traditional leaders to transform harmful cultural norms,” Opendi said.

From dialogue to action

According to UWOPA, addressing gender, land, and climate change in isolation is no longer viable. Opendi asserted that the intersection of these three pillars will determine whether Uganda’s development path is inclusive, resilient, and sustainable.

In her closing remarks, Dr Anib urged, “Let us, together, continue to build an equitable and climate-resilient IGAD region.”