In Uganda wildfires are a shared enemy and therefore a common entry point to bring all stakeholders towards a common vision: a wildfire management strategy that will help minimize the risks and impacts of wildfires. Over the past thirty years, Uganda has lost more than half of its natural forest cover to various agricultural activities, leading to an increase in wildfires exacerbated by climate change. These wildfires pose a significant threat to both natural and agricultural resources, endangering local communities and their livelihoods.

Through collaboration with local communities, cultural institutions, civil society organizations, Ministries Departments and Agencies, Academia, private companies and local authorities, with support from Tropenbos International , we developed a fire management plan for the Bugoma and Budongo landscapes. This involved a shared understanding of the problem through collaborative learning, engagement and sensitization of local communities, cultural institutions, civil society organizations, Ministries Departments and Agencies, Academia, private companies and local authorities about risks associated with burning practices, and jointly finding solutions to reduce these risks finally bringing all stakeholders of the Budongo-Bugoma landscape together around the same table towards a common vision.

These efforts have culminated in the development of wildfire management strategy for the landscape which is now being scaled up to a national level, with key authorities taking the lead in implementing effective fire prevention measures.

To learn more about our work in Uganda, we invite you to watch the video and see how together with communities, we can reduce wildfires and save forests, local livelihoods and lives.