Uganda hails environmental gains, calls for stronger global action

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Uganda struck an assertive tone at the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) in Nairobi, Kenya, delivering a message of environmental recovery and global responsibility through Justine Kasule Lumumba, the minister of state for general duties in the Office of the Prime Minister.

Lumumba represented President Yoweri Museveni.

Carrying the President’s message, Lumumba told delegates that Uganda had come to UNEA-7 “as both a climate-vulnerable nation and an emerging example of environmental restoration grounded in science, policy and community action.” 

She praised Kenya and UNEP for hosting the meeting in what she called “the global environmental capital".

She said Uganda had turned a corner on decades of forest loss, citing new national data showing forest cover had risen from 9% in 2015 to 13.4% today, a reversal she credited to “robust legislation, strong enforcement and the active participation of private sector, civil society and ordinary citizens.”

Uganda, she added, is aiming for 21 per cent forest cover by 2030 and 24 per cent by 2040, describing the effort as “one of the most significant ecosystem recovery transformations in East Africa.”

Lumumba also pointed to Uganda’s wetlands, which she said have long been threatened by encroachment, as an area of major progress. Wetland cover, she said, grew from 8.9% in 2019 to 13.9% in 2025, equivalent to 3.4 million hectares.

“We have restored over 1.2 million hectares of degraded wetlands,” she noted, adding that Uganda now protects “the highest percentage of wetlands in Africa and the third-highest globally.”

Wildlife has also rebounded, she reported, with thriving populations of elephants, mountain gorillas, giraffes and rhinos, supported by a protected area system that now covers 40 per cent of Uganda’s landmass, well beyond the global conservation target of 30 per cent.

Turning to pollution control, Lumumba said Uganda had taken “decisive steps” including the 2024 National Environment (Air Quality Standards) Regulations, binding emission controls, and a 2023 plastic circularity strategy. She reminded delegates that Uganda has announced a total ban on single-use plastic carrier bags effective 2025, closing what she described as “the long-standing loopholes around kaveera.”

On clean mobility, she noted Uganda’s push toward electrification: “Our National E-Mobility Strategy targets full electrification of public transport and motorcycles by 2030, and passenger vehicles by 2040.” 

She highlighted the homegrown Kayoola electric bus, built by Kira Motors Corporation and first developed at Makerere University, which can travel 500 kilometres on a single charge. Electric tractors, boda-bodas and boats are also being adopted.

But Lumumba stressed that national efforts alone cannot match the scale of global environmental disruption.

“Our achievements show recovery is possible, but no country can confront this crisis in isolation,” she said.

Uganda called for increased climate and biodiversity financing, stronger global action against plastic pollution, technology transfer for green industrialisation, and formal recognition of forests, wetlands and rangelands as critical assets for adaptation.

She closed by reaffirming Uganda’s commitment to collective action: “We stand ready to work with all nations so that UNEA-7 delivers not just declarations, but real pathways backed by resources, technology and political will. Uganda is prepared to contribute to and benefit from global environmental solidarity.”