Mega Fm & Agency
Uganda has secured 113 billion shillings from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) after achieving verified reductions in deforestation and forest degradation.
The funding, announced at the launch of the Uganda REDD+ Results-Based Payments Project, rewards Uganda for reducing an estimated eight million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions between 2016 and 2017.
Minister of State for Environment Beatrice Atim Anywar described the funding as a historic milestone, saying it is the first Results-Based Payments project approved by the GCF Board for Uganda, the first of its kind for an African country and the first for a Least Developed Country worldwide.
Anywar said the project demonstrates how countries that take credible action to protect and restore forests can be financially rewarded for their climate efforts.
The funding is seed capital to strengthen Uganda’s forest monitoring, reporting and verification systems, improve benefit-sharing arrangements and align REDD+ activities with the country’s Nationally Determined Contributions.
The project will be overseen through a multi-stakeholder governance structure bringing together government, civil society, the private sector and indigenous people, with the Ministry of Water and Environment and FAO serving as co-chairs.
The project will also support climate-smart agriculture through farmer training, distribution of resilient seed varieties and promotion of sustainable wood-energy technologies, including efficient woodlots and improved household energy sources.
These interventions are intended to reduce pressure on natural forests while improving rural livelihoods and strengthening food security.