Uganda has secured a US$ 31 million (KSh4.7 billion) grant from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the first-ever results-based climate payment for an African country, in recognition of its tangible gains in curbing deforestation and cutting carbon emissions.
- •The achievement, verified under the UN-backed REDD+ framework, is equivalent to growing 133 million tree seedlings over a decade.
- •The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), acting on behalf of Uganda’s government, presented the project dubbed “Uganda REDD+ Results-Based Payment for Emission Reductions (2016–2017)”.
- •Uganda joins a small group of countries, including Chile, Colombia, and Papua New Guinea, that have accessed such performance-based funding through FAO, collectively worth US$ 237 million.
“The funding shows how results-based finance can reward real climate action and deliver benefits for people and nature,” said FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu.
The payout, approved at the 43rd GCF Board meeting in Songdo, South Korea, celebrates Uganda’s success in reducing more than 8 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions between 2016 and 2017 through sustainable forest management.
Uganda’s forests, which cover about 2.36 million hectares, are critical for food security, climate regulation, and livelihoods — but face pressure from agricultural expansion, with cassava and cattle farming driving 90% of forest loss.
Permanent Secretary at Uganda’s Ministry of Water and Environment, Alfred Okot Okidi, said the payout vindicates Uganda’s patient climate finance strategy. “It clearly shows how persistence in this space of strategic importance pays off,” he said.
FAO will help channel the US$ 31 million into community projects that combine forest restoration with income generation — such as timber and pole plantations, collective forest management, and land tenure reforms.
The total value of the FAO-GCF portfolio currently amounts to $1.8 billion, with 114 readiness grants - including 38 in Africa