Daphine Gitonga

National Policy Dialogue in Uganda to enhance coordination and integration of REDD+ across key sectors of the economy

The UN-REDD Programme in partnership with the Ministry of Water and Environment in Uganda and the Africa Forest Forum (AFF)  jointly organised a National Policy Dialogue from 23rd to 24th, November 2023 at in Entebbe and online.

The Policy Dialogue brought together policy actors from different sectors, including forestry, energy, livestock, agriculture, land, wildlife, mining, industry, and local government, to strengthen coordination and integration of REDD+ across the key sectors of the economy.  It provided a platform for knowledge sharing among decision-makers for better planning and implementation of REDD+ at the national level. The policy dialogue also involved actors from non-governmental organisations, forestry associations, private sector, research institutions, and academia in Uganda.

Rationale for the Policy Dialogue

The Policy Dialogue for REDD+ implementation in Uganda was premised on the need to engage with different stakeholders, including those who contributed significantly to the REDD+ Readiness phase. Following the conclusion of the Readiness phase in June 2021, a number of developments have happened, including the initiation of REDD+ demo-projects and the potential development of carbon projects for Result-Based Payments. Several policies are currently under review by the Government of Uganda, that affect REDD+ implementation in various ways. Therefore, a rapid assessment of the policy coherence with all stakeholders was important in ensuring effective REDD+ implementation.

The dialogue included discussions and presentations on:

  • Uganda’s REDD+ process, focusing on the policies-governance-resource framework.
  • Key findings from the policy analysis including opportunities for REDD+ integration and constraints.
  • Working groups and plenary dialogues will discuss opportunities, approaches, disincentives, and ways to address them.
  • Developing an action plan with roles and responsibilities for REDD+ coordination and integration.

Expected Outputs

The expected outputs of the Policy Dialogue included:

  • Policy actors learned about sectoral policies and strategies that have potential to influence REDD+ implementation at national level.
  • Policy actors learned about opportunities for REDD+ integration across multiple sectors for the country’s sustainable development.
  • Policy actors were informed about disincentives that could negatively affect REDD+ implementation.
  • Entry points were discussed, and consensus built on how to address disincentives and harness opportunities.
  • A roadmap to achieve REDD+ coordination and integration, with roles, responsibilities, and a timeline for each REDD+ stakeholder was developed.

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