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Uganda pilots independent forest monitoring to curb forest degradation
26 August 2026, 8:08 pm
speaks during the three-day Independent Forest
Monitoring inception workshop at Hilton Garden Inn, Kampala.
By Ronald Ssemagonja
A three-day multi-stakeholder inception workshop to pilot Independent Forest Monitoring (IFM) in Uganda is underway at Hilton Garden Inn in Kampala.
The workshop brings together government officials, civil society organisations, development partners, local governments and community forest monitors to strengthen transparency, accountability and coordination in the management of Uganda’s forests.
The workshop is organised by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in partnership with the Government of Uganda through the Ministry of Water and Environment, the European Union and the Embassy of Denmark under the Forest Partnership and Partnering for Forests Development Project.
The initiative is being implemented under the UNODC project, “Combating Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Uganda through the Criminal Justice System,” funded by the European Union.
Opening the workshop on behalf of Government, Assistant Commissioner for Forest Resources in charge of Monitoring and Mapping, Bob Kazungu, said Independent Forest Monitoring will complement existing forest governance systems.
Kazungu said Uganda’s forests have been grossly degraded and that gaps in coordination, transparency and enforcement need to be addressed.
UNODC Uganda Representative Alejandro Euceda said the initiative will strengthen accountability across the forestry sector by bringing different stakeholders together to improve transparency and oversight.
The three-day workshop is expected to develop an operational framework for piloting Independent Forest Monitoring in Uganda and strengthen collaboration between government institutions, civil society and communities involved in forest conservation.
Participants include officials from Rubirizi, Ibanda, Masindi and Hoima districts, the Uganda Wildlife Authority, Environmental Alert, TEENS Uganda, Toornet, the Anti-Corruption Coalition Uganda and community forest monitors from Rwanjere and Budongo Central Forest Reserves.