Participants of the Three-Day Parliamentary Advocacy Workshop against the Forest amendment in Nairobi, Kenya.
Situation
In Uganda, forest resources are of great importance to both the national economy and livelihoods of local communities in Uganda. However, many of these resources are being destroyed. Most of the forest cover loss is attributed to illegal and unregulated trade in forest products, expansion of commercial and subsistence agriculture into forest and bushlands and degazetting (removal of status) of forest reserves for foreign investment and industrial development.
Greenwatch Uganda, a non-profit environmental organisation, filed a civil suit in the High Court of Uganda to compel the Government of Uganda and relevant agencies to protect Uganda’s forests and develop a climate change mitigation plan that includes reforestation and restoration of degraded forests in accordance with the best available science.
ILP’s Action
ILP’s volunteer lawyers provided strategic litigation advice to the organisation and international case precedents to help strengthen their public interest litigation case before the High Court.
Impact
The case remains pending and, if successful, can be used as a legal precedent in Uganda and as an inspiration for similar litigation for environmental protection in Africa.