National Environment Act, Uganda: sustainable management of mountain areas

Summary

This National Environment Act, 2019, provides a legal framework for environmental issues, including climate change. It designates an authority to determine the mountain areas in Uganda that are at risk of environmental degradation and thus identifies a lead agency responsible for restoration or reforestation. It stipulates further guidelines on sustainable land use practices in hilly areas.

In East Africa, as in many areas, climate change, in conjunction with other anthropogenic stressors such as unsustainable land use practices, threatens mountain forests and can lead to deforestation and environmental degradation. This Act targets these impacts and focuses on how to identify problem areas and reverse degradation to better adapt to further changes.

This legal framework may interest Members of Parliament or decision-makers looking to incorporate mountain-specific management plans in broader environmental policies or target deforestation problems.

Overview

Location:

• Uganda

Implementation sites:

• Single country
• Multiple locations

Mountain region:

• Rwenzori Mountains; Mount Elgon; Virunga Mountains; Kigezi Highlands; Northeast Highlands

Solution scale:

• National

Ecosystem type(s):

• N/A

Solution type(s):

• Land use practice
• Policy and law

Sector(s):

• Ecosystems Biodiversity
• Plans & policy

Climate impact(s) addressed:

• Landslides

Climate impact time-scale(s):

• Rapid Onset
• Slow Onset

Main benefit associated with the solution:

• Environmental benefits (e.g. biodiversity preservation, water security, food security)

Co-benefit(s) associated with the solution implementation:

• Climate risk reduction (e.g. reduced risk from floods)

Implementation timeline:

• 2019

Sendai targets:

SDGs:

• 
• 

Solution details

Main beneficiaries & outcomes

The National Environment Act repeals existing legislation and updates the law on environmental management in Uganda, providing a legal framework for addressing environmental issues, such as climate change. Although the Act covers broad environmental management in Uganda, it includes three sections that have specific regulations for the sustainable management of mountain areas. This includes the identification of at-risk areas, the requirement for a lead agency to manage restoration, reforestation and afforestation, and the need for guidelines for sustainable land use practices.  More details on other aspects of the law can be found in the full text.

Specific previsions related to mountains include a section specifically focused on the management of hilly and mountainous areas in which:

• Hilly and mountainous areas are identified and mapped by the National Environment Management Authority to determine which areas are at risk of environmental degradation, natural processes or natural disasters (and how these risks are defined).
• Identified at-risk areas are to be alerted to the relevant authority, with a register maintained
• Restoration, reforestation and afforestation of the identified areas are to be conducted by the Authority/designated lead agency, including by engaging community engagement, ensuring that landowners take necessary steps for private areas, and taking necessary measures to ensure compliance
• Guidelines for the sustainable use of hilly and mountainous areas are prescribed by the Authority, including:
  • Appropriate land use practices;
  • Carrying capacity of the areas described in subsection (1);
  • Control of soil erosion, soil creep and landslides;
  • Disaster preparedness in areas prone to landslides;
  • The protection of areas referred to in subsection (1) from human settlements;
  • The protection of water catchment areas; and
  • Any other measures the Authority considers necessary.
• These guidelines will be followed by the lead agency to ensure that they are implemented.

Planning and implementation

The Act provides specific provisions for operationalizing the mountain sections of the law, but does not thoroughly integrate measures to tackle the impacts of climate change.

Finance

N/A

Innovation

N/A

Capacities for design and implementation

Outlook & Scalability