The East African region is making a deliberate effort to transition the economies of Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania into the sphere of the green economy under the stewardship of Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE), a Ugandan Think Tank.

In this region, ACODE has teamed up with the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR) in Rwanda, Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) and Research on Poverty Alleviation (REPOA) in Tanzania to launch the Green Economy Coalition – East Africa Hub (GEC-EA).

The GEC-EA, hosted by ACODE, is an extension of the globalized Green Economy Coalition (GEC), which has been formed to establish a sub-regional knowledge and action space that connects green economy and natural capital agendas across the three East African member countries.

The executive director of ACODE, Dr. Arthur Bainomugisha, in an interview with Earthfinds at the launch, explained that the Coalition is going to help countries put in place legal, policy and institutional frameworks that will help them transition to a green economy.

Economies That Value Nature

He explained that by green economy, they mean a fair, inclusive economy – one that caters for the future. “When we say green economy, we mean economies which understand that the planet has limits and can revolt because of climate change problems. And that revolt can manifest or is manifesting in a draught, bad rains (El Nino), shrinking rains and disappearing rivers like River Rwizi. In West Africa Lake Chad is disappearing” he said.

In the five years, GEC has been implemented in Uganda, Mr. Bainomugisha says there have been achievements recorded including the finance ministry greening the budget and practising natural capital accounting. Because of GEC efforts, parliament passed the climate change law among other regulatory regimes they are putting in place to facilitate the green economy transition. The government now has bought it, he said, revealing that now policymakers believe that climate change is real. Uganda cannot do it alone hence the necessity to bring on board the neighbours.

The Right Regulatory Frameworks Good

According to presentations made by representatives from Rwanda and Kenya, governments there are making progress – they have over the years put in place policies and frameworks that will make the transition to a green economy much easier.

Mr. Joseph Kagabo of IPAR says things like the banning of plastic carriers, planting of trees, the establishment of the green fund and greening of politics are good strides made by the Gen. Paul Kagame-led country which has in the recent years entertained great admiration for its economic successes.

In Kenya, Mr. Joshua Laichena from KIPPRA underscored the transitional progress being registered there considering that the country is 80% semi-arid and the nation’s Vision 2030 captures and is working on some of these areas of interest. We have good laws, what we need is to implement them, Mr. Laichena stated in a streamed presentation at the launch.

There Is Need For Targeted Reforms

Mr. Ronald Kaggwa who works with National Planning Authority in Uganda as Manager for Production, Trade & Tourism Planning noted that a macroeconomic way of doing things is fundamental if you are going to achieve the green economy goals. Also, Mr. Kaggwa notes that there should be reform to put in place healthy fiscal and monetary policies.

He adds that there should be deliberate intentions for both government and the private sector to invest in sectors like agriculture with high green growth.

The country programmes director, Green Economy Coalition, Mr. Stuart Worsley encouraged member organizations to engage each other, experiment and learn what works and what doesn’t work. “Get citizens to act; if citizens are with you, no one can stop you,” he said.

The Green Economy Coalition is the world’s largest movement committed to accelerating the global transition to green and fair economies. And with the launch of the GEC-EA, Local Green Enterprises (LGE) in the three East African member states join 53 other countries across the globe.

When the infectious coronavirus disease (COVID-19) hit Uganda, it left the country’s economy in an injurious state that the government, the private sector and the general public are grappling to recover from due to the pandemic devastations, including thousands of lost human life. 

Like many other countries knocked out by the global pandemic has left over 3, 500 dead in Uganda and 6.3m, out of the 512m global cases, dead, the government of Uganda devised recovery plans to resuscitate the economy and bring it back to life.

But in so doing, stakeholders wanted to make sure that the question of environmental preservation and climate change are captured in these government COVID19 recovery interventions. If done, this would help to have a green economy as the country recovered from the pandemic.

In that spirit, Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE) commissioned a study on mainstreaming natural capital management into Uganda’s COVID -19 recovery packages. The study intended to, among other things, reveal the extent to which recovery packages worked for or against natural capital and to influence recovery plans to mainstream natural capital in economic decision-making into budgetary, fiscal, monetary and trade policy.

According to ACODE, the study focused on assessing positive measures to integrate natural capital into the recovery including budgetary, fiscal, monetary and trade policies (such as expenditure policies that support afforestation) as against negative budgetary, fiscal, monetary and trade measures which undermine natural capital (such as fiscal and trade incentives for forestry clearance).

 And according to the report compiled from the study titled Mainstreaming Natural Capital Into Uganda’s Covid-19 Recovery Packages, Mr. Aaron Werikhe, a consultant, revealed that the government of Uganda deployed mainly four COVID19 Recovery Packages to intervene.

These were through the third National Development Plan (2020/21-2024/25) which was the overall framework for recovery and the Financial Year 2020/21 COVID Recovery National Budget which was aimed at stimulating the economy to safeguard livelihoods, jobs, businesses and industrial recovery.

The other is the Financial Year National Recovery Budget used to speed up economic recovery & driving inclusive growth and then the $281.7m advanced to Uganda Development Bank Limited to lend out businesses.

These packages targeted economic activities like farming, industrialists, water and environment, energy, natural resources exploitation, land use, forestation. According to Mr. Werikhe explanation, these were geared at having an inclusive growth and sustainable use of natural resources that are a factor of production.

But despite the interventions' limitations like delayed or no monetary releases, confidentiality clauses as the case with UDB, poor accountability and uncertainty of the pandemic end, Dr. Arthur Bainomugisha, the executive director of ACODE, was hopeful and positive that the interventions are headed in the right direction.

Dr. Bainomugisha, in an interview with Earthfinds, said: “From this study which has been presented, there is hope. When you look at the policy framework, the legal framework, and the institutional framework, the government has put in place enabling frameworks. The problem now is implementation; to move from rhetoric to practice. We want to see a government that bites,”

He added: “Some of those interventions like recapitalizing UDB, the emyooga money, and also, they have put aside some money for small enterprises which can create jobs should have a consciousness that this money should conserve the environment.

“If you don’t, then you are going to worsen the situation because we are still dependent on the environment and natural resources. People can use this money to cut down trees, to destroy the wetlands and that will not be good in terms of recovery.

“We are saying that these interventions that government is coming up with, to create jobs, to restart companies that had collapsed, to give them a new lease of life, should have a bearing to invest in nature so that it remains stable and provide opportunities to the current and future generations,”

The report recommends that there is a need to initiate and undertake strategic effective dialogue with high impact national expenditure decision making stakeholders such as Parliament & relevant Government Agencies – on the need to green COVID-19 Recovery Packages.

Also, recommended is the necessity to advocate for environmental fiscal reforms such as tax incentives for local green enterprises, deterrent environmental fines & include environment sustainability commitment among investment license access conditions and the need to generate cutting edge analytical studies that elaborate on the direct nexus between human health, the state of natural capital and achievement of planned development goals.

The other recommendations captured in the report are the need to lobby for adherence to social inclusiveness and equity in the design of COVID-19 recovery packages beyond the narrow focus on economic & financial recovery and the development of an engagement strategy with the government to bilaterally track the enforcement of the polluter pays principle stipulated in the new environment Act.    

When the infectious coronavirus disease (COVID-19) hit Uganda, it left the country’s economy in an injurious state that the government, the private sector and the general public are grappling to recover from due to the pandemic devastations, including thousands of lost human life. 

Like many other countries knocked out by the global pandemic has left over 3, 500 dead in Uganda and 6.3m, out of the 512m global cases, dead, the government of Uganda devised recovery plans to resuscitate the economy and bring it back to life.

But in so doing, stakeholders wanted to make sure that the question of environmental preservation and climate change are captured in these government COVID19 recovery interventions. If done, this would help to have a green economy as the country recovered from the pandemic.

In that spirit, Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE) commissioned a study on mainstreaming natural capital management into Uganda’s COVID -19 recovery packages. The study intended to, among other things, reveal the extent to which recovery packages worked for or against natural capital and to influence recovery plans to mainstream natural capital in economic decision-making into budgetary, fiscal, monetary and trade policy.

According to ACODE, the study focused on assessing positive measures to integrate natural capital into the recovery including budgetary, fiscal, monetary and trade policies (such as expenditure policies that support afforestation) as against negative budgetary, fiscal, monetary and trade measures which undermine natural capital (such as fiscal and trade incentives for forestry clearance).

 And according to the report compiled from the study titled Mainstreaming Natural Capital Into Uganda’s Covid-19 Recovery Packages, Mr. Aaron Werikhe, a consultant, revealed that the government of Uganda deployed mainly four COVID19 Recovery Packages to intervene.

These were through the third National Development Plan (2020/21-2024/25) which was the overall framework for recovery and the Financial Year 2020/21 COVID Recovery National Budget which was aimed at stimulating the economy to safeguard livelihoods, jobs, businesses and industrial recovery.

The other is the Financial Year National Recovery Budget used to speed up economic recovery & driving inclusive growth and then the $281.7m advanced to Uganda Development Bank Limited to lend out businesses.

These packages targeted economic activities like farming, industrialists, water and environment, energy, natural resources exploitation, land use, forestation. According to Mr. Werikhe explanation, these were geared at having an inclusive growth and sustainable use of natural resources that are a factor of production.

But despite the interventions' limitations like delayed or no monetary releases, confidentiality clauses as the case with UDB, poor accountability and uncertainty of the pandemic end, Dr. Arthur Bainomugisha, the executive director of ACODE, was hopeful and positive that the interventions are headed in the right direction.

Dr. Bainomugisha, in an interview with Earthfinds, said: “From this study which has been presented, there is hope. When you look at the policy framework, the legal framework, and the institutional framework, the government has put in place enabling frameworks. The problem now is implementation; to move from rhetoric to practice. We want to see a government that bites,”

He added: “Some of those interventions like recapitalizing UDB, the emyooga money, and also, they have put aside some money for small enterprises which can create jobs should have a consciousness that this money should conserve the environment.

“If you don’t, then you are going to worsen the situation because we are still dependent on the environment and natural resources. People can use this money to cut down trees, to destroy the wetlands and that will not be good in terms of recovery.

“We are saying that these interventions that government is coming up with, to create jobs, to restart companies that had collapsed, to give them a new lease of life, should have a bearing to invest in nature so that it remains stable and provide opportunities to the current and future generations,”

The report recommends that there is a need to initiate and undertake strategic effective dialogue with high impact national expenditure decision making stakeholders such as Parliament & relevant Government Agencies – on the need to green COVID-19 Recovery Packages.

Also, recommended is the necessity to advocate for environmental fiscal reforms such as tax incentives for local green enterprises, deterrent environmental fines & include environment sustainability commitment among investment license access conditions and the need to generate cutting edge analytical studies that elaborate on the direct nexus between human health, the state of natural capital and achievement of planned development goals.

The other recommendations captured in the report are the need to lobby for adherence to social inclusiveness and equity in the design of COVID-19 recovery packages beyond the narrow focus on economic & financial recovery and the development of an engagement strategy with the government to bilaterally track the enforcement of the polluter pays principle stipulated in the new environment Act.