By Laudato Voices | September 19, 2025.
Uganda, like much of Sub-Saharan Africa, is experiencing the harsh effects of climate change, deforestation, and land degradation. Tree planting across both rural and urban settings has emerged as a critical strategy for enhancing climate resilience, conserving biodiversity, and supporting livelihoods.
Local Councils (LCs) are at the frontline of environmental governance in Uganda. Their proximity to the population places them in a unique position to promote tree planting through tailored incentives, local leadership, and sustainable policies. With supportive frameworks like national park revenue sharing and youth-led climate programs such as the Laudato Youth Initiative, Uganda has several models worth scaling and replicating.
Community Incentives and Local Governance
Revenue-sharing mechanisms from protected areas have played a vital role in mobilizing communities for environmental stewardship. The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) allocates a portion of gate collections from national parks to neighboring communities to support development and conservation activities. For example, UWA allocated over UGX 4.48 billion to communities around the Bwindi and Mgahinga Conservation Area to fund 76 projects ranging from schools to reforestation (Uganda Wildlife Authority, 2024). The question remains impact assessment and inspirational story sharing of what was done with that incentive to inspire people in caring for creation and protecting national reserves because in someway it helps them know that they too benefit the community and so protecting them becomes an easy to take up mandate by the local people.
Capacity building and local training are another critical area. Organizations such as Bethany Lands Institute, Laudato Youth Initiative, Avail Fruits of Faith Farm, Green Watch Uganda empower Local Council leaders, environmental officers, and community groups by training them in environmental law, agroforestry, and tree nursery establishment (Greenwatch Uganda, n.d.). These skills help embed sustainability within local governance structures.
Some districts are adopting mandatory planting policies to promote ownership and accountability. For instance, Kwania District mandates that all Local Council officials plant a minimum of 10 seedlings annually, reinforcing the role of public leaders as environmental stewards (Bukedde, 2023).
In urban centres, councils like Kitagwenda Town Council have launched ambitious programs to green the city through the planting of over 10,000 trees, improving air quality and urban resilience (Nile Post, 2024). Like wise Laudato Youth Initiative is currently running an ambitious one million tree planting drive in institutions and communities to this effect. Its also working closely with Foresters Hse Consults to raise awareness on air quality issues and mitigating pollution in our country applying the MAST formula.
Role of Laudato Youth Initiative
The Laudato Youth Initiative (LYI) has emerged as a faith-based force in youth climate action. Anchored in Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ encyclical, LYI is spearheading the “One Million Tree Planting Drive” across Uganda. Through school clubs, parishes, and universities, LYI promotes tree planting using indigenous species and fruit trees, coupled with the Laudato Si Green Festival to raise awareness, mindset change, spiritual reflection and environmental education (Laudato Youth Initiative, 2024).
LYI exemplifies how values-based environmental action can drive mindset change among young people. Participants not only plant trees but also take ownership of their care, ensuring survival and long-term impact.
The Importance of Mindset Change
Long-lasting environmental change depends on changing attitudes and perceptions. In many Ugandan communities, trees are still seen primarily as sources of fuel or obstacles to cultivation. Through public education, recognition programs, and demonstration projects, Local Councils can form Laudato Si Clubs and help shift this mindset from exploitation to stewardship.
Faith-based programs like LYI have successfully used moral framing to present care for the environment as a spiritual duty. Local government and civil society actors can reinforce this by integrating environmental topics into school curricula, community meetings, and council agendas.
Visible success stories like fruit trees in schools or greening in urban markets can demonstrate the benefits of tree planting and encourage broader community involvement (Fruitrees Uganda, n.d.).
Recommendations for Local Councils
To fully realize the potential of tree planting in Uganda, Local Councils can adopt the following actions:
- Institutionalize tree planting in LC work plans and performance indicators. Our Laudato Si Clubs have seen much fruit when they connect with community leaders to build resilience.
- Establish and support community nurseries in schools, parishes, and health centres.
- Promote agroforestry and fruit tree planting to enhance livelihoods. A case in point is our work with Bethany Lands Institute where we are forming Laudato Si Clubs to build community resilience.
- Use faith networks and youth programs to like Laudato Si Week, Season of Creation to shift attitudes and promote responsibility.
- Enforce local environmental by-laws, such as penalties for destroying public trees, not caring for land and re foresting local roads sides with trees. Land owners to take responsibility of the Garbage in their property.
- Recognize and reward community champions through annual awards or public ceremonies.
- Collaborate with NGOs and our youth initiative with trees and amplify voice to our efforts for a broader impact to be realized. Uganda Nation Forestry to offer trees, technical support and resource mobilization to or youth eco activities.
- Integrate tree planting with other services, such as water protection, health, and education. Like our parish level sanitation program at St. Adolf Parish that
- Involves a cleanup day to Promote Sanitation and Hygiene aiming at promoting family and community hygiene to mitigate the spread of preventable diseases linked to poor sanitation.
Its important to note that tree planting is more than a technical solution, it is a moral, social, and economic imperative. With the right mix of community incentives, local leadership, youth engagement, and faith-based action, Uganda’s Local Councils can be the catalysts of a national greening movement. By investing in the environment today, we ensure a livable, resilient, and dignified future for all Ugandans.
References
Bukedde. (2023, October 17). Kwania introduces mandatory tree planting to fight climate change. Vision Group. https://www.bukedde.co.ug/bukedde/NV_169914/kwania-introduces-mandatory-tree-planting
Fruitrees Uganda. (n.d.). One World Tree Planting. https://www.fruitreesuganda.org/one-world-tree-planting/
Greenwatch Uganda. (n.d.). Community empowerment for sustainable development. https://greenwatch.or.ug/empowerment
Laudato Youth Initiative. (2024). One Million Tree Planting Drive 2024–2025. https://laudatoyouth-initiative.org/one-million-tree-drive-2024-2025/
Nile Post. (2024, August 1). Kitagwenda Town Council to plant 10,000 trees to boost urban environment. https://nilepost.co.ug/environment/229011/kitagwenda-town-council-to-plant-10000-trees-to-boost-urban-environment
Uganda Wildlife Authority. (2024, April 18). UWA gives Shs 4 billion to communities neighbouring Bwindi, Mgahinga parks. https://ugandawildlife.org/news/4bn-to-communities-around-bwindi-mgahinga-parks/
