Environmentalists call for strong forestry tenure security

Environmentalists have decried the high degradation of forests in the country and have asked government to increase funding and strengthen the Forestry Tenure Security (FTS) as a measure to revive the sector.

Forestry, land and environmental experts from different districts argue that a strong FTS is crucial in reviving and managing the sector for economic benefits.

The observation made during a National Level Participatory Prospective Analysis (NLPPA) workshop in Jinja.

They reviewed challenges of the sector, how it can be rejuvenated and managed sustainably to benefit the country economically.

The meeting was part of the Global Comparative Study (GCS) project under the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFR) on land tenure security, exploring relationships between statutory and customary land tenure and how it affects the security tenure of forest independent forest communities.

It is supported by Makerere University, funded by the European Commission (EC), Global Environment Facility (GEF), Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

Prof. Abwoli Banana, from the School of Forestry at Makerere University, said with 70% of forests in the country still outside the forest reserves managed by government, it remains a challenge to monitor such forests.

Statistics indicate that 92,000 hectares are lost annually with the highest effect on private forests at 34% compared to 12% in protected areas.

According to 2012, National State of Environment Report for Uganda, Uganda forest cover declined from 50% of the total land area in 1900 to 18%.