Environmental activists have renewed their demand for action against climate change, with the focus bent on fighting deforestation ahead of a Global Climate Match on Friday.
In a dialogue-themed “Fighting Deforestation to combat climate change” that was held at Fairway Hotel ahead of the global climate match, the activists urged the government to come up with policies that will mitigate deforestation as a way of combating climate change.
The dialogue was headlined by activists from Friday for Future – Uganda in partnership with OXFAM and the French Embassy in Uganda.
The founder of the Fridays for Future – Uganda, Hilda Flava Nakabuye said that they also want the government to involve youth in policymaking because they are crucial stakeholders in the debate on sustainability.
“Getting the youths involved in forest conservation could help preserve our forests, sustain efforts on reforestation, and slow down the alarming rate of deforestation and natural resource degradation,” Nakabuye said.
Nakabuye said that young people have always been sidelined in the fight to save forests yet they will be the major victims of the effects of climate change.
Tom Rukundo, the director of Natural Forests Management in the National Forestry Association represented the government in the dialogue and told the youth that government has plans of fighting deforestation. Rukundo said that forest cover has also increased by 9.9% in the last three years.
“We are currently putting efforts on replanting degraded forests and conserving the existing ones, we are very close to achieving our target,” Rukondo said.
The French Embassy also pledged to support the youth in their efforts to fight deforestation as preservation is the only way Uganda can have a safe future, according to the message from French Ambassador to Uganda
