Mp Santa Okot’s tree planting initiative strengthens climate action in Aruu North

27 October 2025, 08:38

By Ekel Bonny Daniel

Hon. Santa Okot, Woman Member of Parliament for Aruu North County, is leading a major tree planting campaign across her constituency, using her salary and allowances to restore tree cover and address the growing effects of climate change.

The initiative encourages environmental conservation, sustainability, and community participation throughout the district.

The program has reached all 65 parishes, with ten residents in each village receiving 30 seedlings.

Distribution takes place between April and September, Uganda’s prime planting months.

Next year, the program will focus on youth engagement to promote long-term environmental responsibility and awareness.

Residents in Aruu North have embraced the initiative. Adek Lawrence from Ogom Village, Angagura Sub-County, explained that tree planting was already taking place in the community before the MP’s intervention.

With seedlings like pine and teak from the MP, he has successfully established his own trees and continues planting others, benefiting from both environmental and economic incentives offered through the Peace in Uganda Programme.

Okumu Walter, LCI of Ogom Village and coordinator for the Peace Project in Pader District, confirmed that the MP’s tree seedlings have been distributed across villages and that residents who have planted trees have been enrolled in the Peace Programme.

These participants are now benefiting from carbon payments, motivating further tree planting and long-term environmental stewardship.

The Peace in Uganda Programme, implemented by Clean Air Action Corporation, complements Hon. Okot’s efforts by recruiting farmers into small groups and training them in tree planting, seed collection, nursery management, and tree care.

The program emphasizes women’s participation and incorporates energy-saving cookstoves and conservation farming practices to improve household livelihoods.

Joseph Lakony, Desk Auditor with Clean Air Action Corporation, told our reporter that he oversees the monitoring and verification of trees planted under the initiative, ensuring accurate counting and carbon quantification.

He said each tree is enrolled free from external carbon commitments, with farmers signing sixty years contracts.

Payments are made based on the carbon captured by their trees and delivered via mobile money, linking environmental conservation to tangible financial benefits and encouraging long-term tree maintenance.

More than fourteen small groups in Pader District are already participating in the program, guided by cluster leaders like Okumu Walter.

Participants have seen improvements in soil protection, crop yields, and climate resilience.

Seedlings have been planted around homes, farms, and riverbanks to prevent soil erosion, and the program is gradually changing mindsets about environmental conservation across the district.

Hon. Okot’s initiative, in partnership with the Peace in Uganda Programme, is a model of how political leadership, community engagement, and innovative carbon trading schemes can work together to promote sustainable development.

Residents are empowered to participate in climate mitigation while improving household income, demonstrating that environmental stewardship can be both practical and economically rewarding.

Through combined efforts, Aruu North is emerging as a leading example of community-driven climate action in northern Uganda, showing how grassroots participation and structured support can transform local approaches to conservation and sustainability.