When Uganda sought to revise and update its 1964 law governing the forestry sector, the Government engaged a consultant to assist in the drafting process. In the late 1990s, the forestry sector in Uganda identified a number of issues to consider in revising the forest act. These issues included the fact that since the 1992 Earth Summit, new principles and practices on sound forest management had developed that needed to be adapted to Uganda, in addition to difficulties in Uganda’s existing framework for forest management. Accordingly, Uganda decided that the law needed to be updated to incorporate the Rio Forest Principles as well as the CBD, CITES, CCD, and Agenda 21.
With financial assistance from UNEP and others, the Government hired a consultant to develop an initial draft bill. This bill was reviewed and discussed several times through regional and national workshops, in an effort to build consensus among the various interested parties and stakeholders (including workshops for parliamentarians). In 2003, after four years, Parliament adopted the National Forestry and Tree Planting Act of 2003.
For more information, contact Ms. Christine Akello at cakello@nemaug.org or info@nemaug.org