Deforestation leaves Uganda on verge of climate crisis

Since fleeing her native South Sudan in November of 2016, and resettling in Adjumani District’s Pagirinya Refugee Settlement Camp in Uganda, Grace Anyang has used firewood plentifully. 

The 32-year-old widowed mother of four sources her firewood from a nearby woodland. 
Most of it is channelled towards addressing cooking demands.

Hers is not an isolated case. Various studies estimate that wood fuel in the sub-region increases at a rate of 4.2 percent. 

In fact, 65 percent of urban households in the sub-region are said to rely on charcoal as a major source of energy. Small wonder, therefore, that Adjumani District is grappling with a steep increase in tree cover loss.

The ecological problem persists despite efforts to promote the consumption of clean energy. 
Initiatives that facilitate a progressive shift from solid biomass to renewable energy generation have been widespread. 

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The alternatives to dirty energy options, however, remain unpopular. 
Destructive activities such as deforestation, charcoal burning and sand mining continue almost unencumbered.

“We have been pleading with these miners to desist…sand mining in this area, it is already bearing a bad impact…the long-term effects will be drastic,” James Eberu, the Adjumani environment officer, says.

Grim findings
In 2019, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) undertook a rapid assessment of natural resource degradation around the refugee settlements in northern Uganda. 
FAO came to the conclusion that a refugee influx led to an increase in the rate of degradation. Tree loss—both inside the West Nile refugee settlements and around their boundaries— accelerated land cover changes in bushlands, as well as woodlands.

The influx also put refugees on a collision path with the host population over natural resources.  
By April 2019, more than 815,000 South Sudanese refugees and asylum seekers had migrated to Uganda.

Adjumani District currently plays host to 210,000 of these refugees. 

Due to logistical and technical constraints associated with the transition to clean energy alternatives, most of the refugees continue using dirty energy options.

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Cooking fuel demand in 14 targeted refugee settlements was, for one, estimated to be about 345,000 metric tonnes of wood per year (on a dry weight basis) in 2019. 

Adjumani, which squats on 31,000 sqkm, boasts of forest cover straddling 25 percent of her land size. 
Fred Oja, the district forest officer, however, says 15 percent of the forest cover has been destroyed, thanks to increased demand for charcoal and wood fuel brought on by an influx of refugees.

“On daily basis, more than 10 trucks of charcoal move out of the district using different routes,” Mr Oja revealed.

National crisis
FAO is currently implementing the Forest Management and Sustainable Charcoal Value-chain project in Adjumani.

“We are focusing on the establishment of wood energy plantations of about 1,800 hectares in communities on a small and medium scale to bear positive environmental outcomes in the district,” FAO’s Valence Turyamureba says of the project that aims at addressing negative environmental, social, and economic impacts of charcoal production.

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The intervention, with the backing of the National Forestry Authority (NFA), hopes to reforest at least 500 hectares of degraded natural forests on private land through practices such as enrichment planting and farmer-managed regeneration.

The United Nations estimates that Uganda loses up to $72.7m (Shs257b) in foregone taxes and licensing fees from charcoal production and trade. 

Government statistics show that Uganda needs nearly two million hectares of plantation forests to strike a balance with the rapidly depleting natural forests. 

Whereas Uganda was harvesting and consuming approximately 30,000 cubic metres of timber 10 years ago, the demand has increased six-fold as per government statistics.

“The government is amending the necessary laws and acts to strengthen the regulations. We now have the nursery operators and timber growers registered with the government, while the processors have also formed their associations,” Alfred Okot Okidi, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Water and Environment, says.

Mr Okidi believes the new standards will birth “a more visible and quality-driven timber chain in the country.” 

FAO officials add that once sustainably produced, clean biomass fuels can play a significant role in meeting the energy needs of Uganda’s growing population. Compared to other forms of biomass energy, charcoal is considered cleaner, more efficient, and with higher energy content per unit of weight.

Interventions

Deforestation, however, continues apace in sub-counties such as Palorinya and Itula in Obongi District. 
Victoria Duite, the Welfare Council II leader for Palorinya Base Camp Settlement, says a reduced food ratio recently announced by the World Food Programme has seen people turn to charcoal business for sustenance.

“Other than cutting it for their own cooking, they now sell it and that has increased the rate at which these trees are cut,” Ms Duite said.

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To replenish the environment around refugee settlements, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with World Vision, is implementing the Uganda Host and Refugees Community Empowerment Project, which emphasises tree planting.

“At the household level, these seedlings are planted around the boundary of their home. This initiative is aimed at replenishing the diminishing tree cover in settlements,” Raymond Mukisa, a programmes manager at UNDP, says of the programme that has seen 130 acres of woodlands established.
Elsewhere, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has also supported NFA’s efforts to raise 11.8 million tree seedlings for planting across the West Nile Sub-region since 2019. 

To revive and protect the water catchment of major water systems in the country, Mr Joseph Oriono Eyatu, the director of water development at the Water and Environment ministry, says the country hopes to plant 200 million trees in the next five years under the National Greening Campaign. 

“We are investing a lot in plantation forestry, as well as advocating for and promoting the same among the population. Besides, we have seen it also create jobs for our people,” Mr Tom Okurut, the NFA executive director, says.

CD Lanoya, a commercial tree grower in Gulu District, says a paradigm shift is of the essence.

“Many times people condemn monoculture in tree growing,” he notes. 
He adds: “We chose to grow quick maturing trees to relieve the pressure on the indigenous trees (natural forests) which are going extinct.”
 

Compiled by Tobbias Jolly Owiny, Teddy Dokotho & Marko Taibot