The Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga has expressed her frustration with the Ministry of Finance for failing to finance the Tree Fund enacted under the National Forestry and Tree Planting Act, 2003.

The Tree Fund is provided for under Section 40 of the National Forestry and Tree Planting Act 2003.

Kadaga says even after passing the act 16 years ago, the Finance Ministry is still considering the provision of funds to replace trees that have already been cut.

She notes that the Fund was supposed to be the government’s initiative in promoting tree planting and conserving the environment at the national level.

Kadaga said this while on Friday while flagging off a campaign at parliament dubbed ‘Running Out of Trees’ meant to raise awareness of the state of Uganda’s nearly depleted forest cover and signal action by citizens.

The Kampala – Gulu 330 Kilometer relay campaign is spearheaded by Uganda Breweries Limited (UBL) in partnership with the Ministry of Water and Environment,  Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), Stanbic Bank, Total Uganda, Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited (UEGCL) and others.


The “Running out of Trees” campaign (ROOT), will be done on a relay basis with runners starting at Parliament of Uganda on Friday, 07 February 2020 and ending in Gulu with the aim of restoring forest cover in the country.

The UBL Board Chair, Japheth Katto, said the ROOT campaign wants to raise awareness about the adverse impact of deforestation on the environment.

He explained that the Kampala – Gulu has been selected for the 2020 ROOT because statistics for that area indicate that it has been the worst affected by deforestation in the country,” Katto said.

Kadaga said that the choice of planting trees in Gulu this year was commendable since the area is dominated by charcoal burning which does not favor the conservation of trees.

The speaker said it is sickening to see several sacks along the road on the way to Gulu because she keeps imagining how many trees are in each sack, she demanded that people rise to the occasion and do the needful.

She also tasked the Minister of State for Water Ronald Kibuule to ensure that his ministry sets an action plan like in other countries where declarations on tree planting have been made.

Statistics from the National Forestry Authority (NFA)  indicate that Uganda lost 2.4 million hectares of forest cover between 1990 and 2015, translating to an annual loss of 96,000 hectares.