Uganda’s forests and trees are at the centre of socio-economic development and environmental protection of the country. They support the key sectors of Uganda’s economy, including crop and livestock agriculture, energy, wildlife and tourism, water resources, and livelihoods.
Therefore, forests are central to maintaining the quality of the environment, while providing international and national public goods and services. Forests and trees provide the bulk of the energy used in Uganda. Over 90% of households in Uganda use firewood and charcoal (Dastan Bamwesigye, et al, 2020[1]).
Sometimes we confuse weather and climate, but time can be used to identify the difference between the two. Weather is the state of the atmosphere of a given place at a specific time with respect to weather variables over the short term which could be in minutes to weeks. Such variables include temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind, solar energy, humidity, precipitation, cloudiness and wind. It can also be described as day-to-day temperature and precipitation.
Climate, on the other hand, is the term for the average of atmospheric conditions over longer periods of time. According to the World Meteorological Organisation, climate is the long-term average weather conditions of a region (usually taken over a period of more than 30 years). In other words, climate is what you expect, but weather is what you get (African Forum Forest. 2019[2]). At the forestry sector level, climate affects the health of forests, but forests also affect the kind of climate (African Forum Forest 2019)[3].
Climate change refers to any change in climate over time, whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activity. Global warming is the net effect of GHGs that result in the gradual heating of the earth’s atmosphere and surface. GHGs trap heat in the atmosphere, and are responsible for much of the warming that is observed.
The reality of climate change and its effect on the forestry sector is articulated in Uganda’s Second National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (2014[4]). Climate change poses one of the greatest development threats in most of the developing countries. The latest scientific information given by the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicates that global warming poses serious development and environmental problems with far-reaching social and economic consequences. The very existence of communities in countries like Uganda is particularly threatened by the erosion of their natural resource capital by the impacts of climate change.
Uganda has continued to experience numerous phenomena associated with the adverse impacts of climate change. Different parts of Uganda have experienced increased levels of flooding, prolonged droughts, and erratic rainfall patterns. The impacts have included landslides, loss of biodiversity, land degradation and increased incidences of diseases, pest and vector infestations in both humans and livestock. The recurrent landslides in Bududa District on the slopes of Mt. Elgon, flooding of River Nyamwamba in the Mt. Rwenzori region, melting of the Mt. Ruwenzori ice caps, and increased desertification across the cattle corridor provide clear pointers to the magnitude of the threat.
Uganda’s climate is three-quarters tropical with two peak rainy seasons in March – June, and October – December. Only the northern part has one mainly single rainy season during March – mid-October. The Northeast tends toward semi-arid; especially during the dry season. The rainfall level received ranges from 400 to 2,200 mm per year while temperature ranges between 16 to 31ºC. These mild conditions make climate one of Uganda’s most valuable natural resources. Climate determines the state of natural resources such as water, forests, wildlife and biodiversity that form the basis for socioeconomic development in other sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, tourism, transport and health. This makes Uganda highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
Natural resources constitute the primary source of livelihood for the majority of the people of Uganda. Not only are these natural resources affected by climate change, but they have also come under increased pressure arising from high population growth and environmental degradation.
The National Greenhouse Gas Inventory of Uganda’s First Biennial Update Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) covering the period 2005 to 2015 gives carbon dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) as the main GHGs responsible for climate change in Uganda[5]. In terms of CO2 equivalents, CO2, CH4 and N20 contributed 63%, 23% and 14% of the total emissions respectively.
In 2015, Uganda’s total emissions were estimated at 77,381 Gg. The Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use sector was the most significant source of emissions for the three gases, accounting for 86.4% of the total emissions[6]. Deforestation and forest degradation contributed significantly to the Agriculture, forestry, and other land use emissions. The emissions from land are dominated by CO2 from deforestation and forest degradation. Net emissions from forestland rose from about 15,900 to almost 40,000 Gg from 2005 to 2015. In 2005, forestland area estimated to have a CO2 sink of 4,000 Gg. CO2 emissions attributable for conversion of forests to cropland and grassland are estimated at 36,830 Gg.
Dastan Bamwesigye; Petr Kupec; Georges Chekuimo; Jindrich Pavlis; Obed Asamoah; Samuel Antwi Darkwah; and Petra Hlaváˇcková, 2020. Sustainability 2020, 12, 8337; doi:10.3390/su12208337 ↩︎
African Forest Forum 2019. Basic science of climate change: A compendium for short courses in African forestry. 88 pp ↩︎
ibid ↩︎
MWE. 2014. Uganda Second National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ↩︎
MWE. (2019). Uganda’s First Biennial Update Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Ministry of Water and Environment, Kampala ↩︎
ibid ↩︎