Ugandan Climate Activists Fight Deforestation by Planting

IMF News, November 10, 2022

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Publication date: November 10, 2022
Central message: Local, community-led tree planting and conservation can be a low-cost, effective form of climate adaptation alongside broader questions about financing renewable energy.
Environmental context:
- In the past 20 years, Uganda has lost over a million hectares of tree cover—nearly a third of the country’s total.
- Prolonged droughts and erratic rainfalls have become more frequent due to massive deforestation.
- Uganda loses around 10 football pitches of forests per day, or more.

IMF staff estimates:
- Actions such as rain and flood-resistant infrastructure, improved water mapping, conservation, and thoughtful tree planting could reduce GDP losses from natural disasters by two-thirds.
- The same actions could almost halve the resulting fiscal gap.
Drivers of deforestation in Uganda:
- Widespread use of firewood for cooking and for construction—roofing and framing, making furniture.
- Charcoal production for export to South Sudan, Rwanda, and other neighboring countries.
- Land governance issues: forests being sold to private companies for sugar cane or construction.
- Land crisis limiting available planting space; protected land being taken.
- Commercial planting focused on profit rather than conservation; planting of non-native species and planting in swamps to accelerate growth for timber.

Founding and membership:
- Organization founded in September 2019.
- Committee of about 30 members volunteering.
- Around 300 volunteers who help with tree plantings and community outreach.
Mission and targets:
- Mission: "To get every person in the world to plant a tree, at least one in their lifetime."
- Goal: To plant 1 million trees by the end of 2023.
Partnerships and support:
- Over eight universities in Uganda joined the challenge.
- National Forestry Authority provides indigenous trees for free.
- Some individuals provide land and volunteer to plant, prune, and water.

Community and institutional engagement:
- Focus on students initially; expanding to communities, government leaders, nongovernment organizations, and businesses.
- Creation of “Green Clubs” in schools to empower students with knowledge and skills to look after trees and act as community contact points.
Digital and media outreach:
- Major focus on engaging people online through social media platforms.
- Weekly online “Green Talk Show” with government leaders, civil society, private sector, and youth.
- Website used to post updates on activities.

Governance and land tenure problems leading to forest loss.
Economic incentives driving tree planting for commercial purposes rather than conservation.
Limited availability of land for conservation planting.
Limited number of similar organizations in Kampala and need for broader coordination.

“You can’t fight climate change alone” — Ismael Tamale, Co-Founder of My Tree Initiative
Ashraf on mission: “To get every person in the world to plant a tree, at least one in their lifetime. That will be enough to save this world.”
Tamale on collaboration: “You can’t fight climate change alone. There are people fighting against plastic pollution, against use of coal. The goal is the same: fighting for the environment, fighting against climate change.”

Content authored by Izabela Karpowicz, IMF Resident Representative for Uganda.