___________________

A quick study on the degradation of natural resources in the refugee-affected areas shows that 97% of the 1,556,750 refugees hosted in Uganda utilise firewood for food preparation in various settlements.

According to an evaluation conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the World Bank, GIZ, the State and Peacebuilding Fund and TERR-Africa, 1,395,832 refugees depend on firewood every day for cooking.

Nelson Balyeku, the monitoring and evaluation officer in the Office of the Prime Minister’s Department for Refugees, noted that the assessment shows that each refugee uses firewood weighing 1.6 kg (2,233,331kgs), valued at shillings 5,000 each, translating to about four trillion annually.

He stressed that even within the settlements, there is trading of firewood as a source of income for communities.

President Yoweri Museveni issued an order early this year to cease cutting down trees for charcoal or timber, to reverse the forest loss and degradation. 

According to the Ministry of Water and Environment, the country has been losing on average 122,000 ha/year of forest every year from 1990-2015. 

The greatest loss in the country is estimated at 250,000 ha of forests annually according to National Forestry Authority (NFA) estimates for the period 2005-2010.

On average, only about 7,000 hectares of planted forests have been established yearly in the last 15 years.

“We are seeing over shillings for a trillion loss for the Government directly when they cut trees, so we are costing it as the government costs for only firewood. However, there are other ecological costs that we may not value now that may affect the climate. But within the settlement, they traded firewood. If at all someone was investing in the growing of trees for firewood, then this would have been the cost if these trees were cut to sell to the refugees,” he noted.

Balyeku said the assessment as of October 2023, showed the total current cost incurred direct and indirect in keeping the refugees estimated at $1.32bn (about sh4.9trillion).

Nelson Balyeku, the Monitoring and Evaluation officer in the Office of the Prime Minister, stressed that even within the settlements, there is trading of firewood as a source of income for communities. (All Photos by Mary Kansiime)

This was during his presentation at the Minister's breakfast meeting on Global Refugee Forum (GRF), pledge preparation, on October 19, 2023, at Kampala Serena Hotel.

He noted that the shillings 4.9 trillion, includes the funds appropriated annually for operations of refugee management under the annual government budgets and the loans from the World Bank specifically for refugee management amounting to $160 million for a period between five to seven years, and $874m in grants.

More than shillings 98 billion is spent on security (640 personnel), 1,217 and 163 primary and secondary teachers, 24 district education officers and school inspectors, 45 doctors, and other health workers, and road maintenance of 1,019.30km of road network within the 13 refugee settlements.

Due to the fluctuating increase in the number of refugees, Uganda requires more resources for refugee responses within the various settlements, according to the Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness, and Refugees Eng. Hillary Onek.

Since the start of 2023, more than 54,500 new arrivals and new births 5,000 have been registered across the settlements and urban locations in Uganda.

Close to 42% of new arrivals originate from South Sudan, and 20% from the DR Congo, according to UNHCR.

He was officiating at the ministers meeting on Global Refugee Forum (GRF) pledge preparation yesterday (October 19, 2023) at Serena Hotel Kampala.

Several ministers made pledges, in five thematic areas, including boosting refugee resilience and independence, addressing the environment, climate change, and energy, implementing transformation management: routes to sustainable burden sharing, constructing and bolstering long-lasting solutions, and localizing refugee responses. 

The pledges were signed by the Ministries of Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, Education and Sports, Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries, Local Government, Energy and Mineral Development, Trade Industry and Cooperatives and Finance, Planning and Economic Development.

Uganda as one of the co-conveners at this year’s GRF scheduled to take place on December 13-15th at the Palexpo in Geneva, Switzerland, is expected to make their pledges towards refugee response, which will help in attracting support in the form of funding towards refugee response.

Uganda will convene the 2023 GRF together with France, Colombia, Japan, Jordan, Niger and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

Onek stressed that they are already negotiating with the Word Bank on the next phase of a similar refugee integrated programme and have agreed to avail the money.

Helen Bugaari, the Director Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) Secretariat in the OPM, said they intend to hold a pre-GRF conference on November 9, 2023, with other partners to demonstrate how they intend to support the government pledges.

She noted that Uganda in 2019 made 70 pledges and the total financial contribution was 77% but only 23% has been fulfilled.

“That is a bit of a worry and I believe being the first ones we did not have strong systems to monitor and we did not go through the systematic process like we are doing now, where now when we receive pledges we know where they are directed, and therefore tracking becomes easier,” he added.

Some of the pledges include providing sponsorships to 54,720 refugee and host community students including youth and women in non-formal skilling programmes, strengthening market development and food systems approach for 600,000 refugees and host communities, and providing tailored business development services to 240,000 refugees for family business and companies, among others.