## Ugandan Climate Activists Fight Deforestation by Planting _IMF News, November 10, 2022_ ## Source details **Canonical URL:** [Ugandan Climate Activists Fight Deforestation by Planting](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2022/11/07/cf-ugandan-climate-activists-fight-deforestation-by-planting) ## Other formats - [Markdown version](/en/news/articles/2022/11/07/cf-ugandan-climate-activists-fight-deforestation-by-planting/index.md) - [Structured JSON version](/en/news/articles/2022/11/07/cf-ugandan-climate-activists-fight-deforestation-by-planting/index.json) - [Bundle manifest](/en/news/articles/2022/11/07/cf-ugandan-climate-activists-fight-deforestation-by-planting/bundle-manifest.json) ## Bibliographic details - Published: November 10, 2022 --- ### Overview and context - 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. ### Key findings and estimates - 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. ### My Tree Initiative: origins, scale, and activities - 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. ### Outreach, engagement, and methods - 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. ### Challenges identified by activists - 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. ### Quotes from founders - “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.* --- ## References - [THE IMF AND CLIMATE CHANGE](https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/climate-change) - [UGANDA AND THE IMF](https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/UGA) - [https://www.imf.org/en/News/country-focus](https://www.imf.org/en/News/country-focus) - [https://www.imf.org/en/publications/weo](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/weo) - [Global Economy in Crosscurrents of War and Technology](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/weo/issues/2026/07/08/world-economic-outlook-update-july-2026) - [https://www.imf.org/en/publications/gfsr](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/gfsr) - [Global Financial Markets Confront the War in the Middle East and Amplification Risks](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/gfsr/issues/2026/04/14/global-financial-stability-report-april-2026) - [https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fm](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fm) - [Fiscal Policy under Pressure: High Debt, Rising Risks](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fm/issues/2026/04/15/fiscal-monitor-april-2026) - [https://www.imf.org/en/publications/reo](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/reo) - [Asia and Pacific](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/reo/apac) - [Europe](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/reo/eu) - [Middle East and Central Asia](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/reo/meca) - [Sub-Saharan Africa](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/reo/ssa) - [Western Hemisphere](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/reo/wh) - [https://www.imf.org/en/publications/areb](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/areb) - [Getting to Growth in an Age of Uncertainty](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/areb/issues/2025/09/24/annual-report-2025) - [More Publications](https://www.imf.org/en/publications) - [estimates](https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2022/03/15/Uganda-Selected-Issues-515171) - [Resident Representative for Uganda](https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/ResRep/UGA) - [https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home) _Source: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2022/11/07/cf-ugandan-climate-activists-fight-deforestation-by-planting_