Address environmental governance

Recently Environmental Management for Livelihood Improvement (EMLI) organised a workshop to address gaps in the current reforms on International Environmental Governance (IEG) and solicit ideas from the Ugandan civil society.

During the discussions, concern was raised about the absence of leadership in some of Uganda’s environmental bodies. For example the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) and National Forest Authority (NFA) advertised the post of the Executive Director whereas the Executive Director of Uganda Wildlife Authority was suspended.

These institutions being the major actors in environmental affairs have roles they play in managing, conserving and governing the environment base of Uganda but at the moment have no executive leadership, which might hinder the execution of their programme of work.

The Environmental Police was put in place but with no clear direction on what to act on and how, and it is such a time that their duties and terms of reference need to be developed but almost all the lead agencies lack the executive leadership to fast-track decision making.

This has put the instrument of environmental governance in Uganda at a standstill since decision making and projects implementation is now slow. Unless, the government addresses environmental governance now, Uganda’s environmental base, the core to its economic and social development might erode at a faster pace.

Robert Bakiika,
Environmental Management for Livelihood Improvement