Potentials, policies and projects on carbon sequestration at national, local and household levels in Uganda

The increasing global interest to mitigate climate change by establishing both compliance and voluntary carbon markets is expected to provide incentives for conserving and improving the management of forest and tree resources in both protected and unprotected areas. This presents both new opportunities and new challenges for biodiversity conservation and rural livelihoods. Within this context, this thesis offers an analysis of dominant land use and land cover change processes, changes in carbon stocks, and drivers of land use change. This analysis reveals that the most dominant land use change processes involve the deforestation and degradation of mainly woodlands and the subsequent conversion of bushlands and grasslands to cropland, resulting in a substantial annual net reduction in forest cover. Results indicate an increase in emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and a negligible increase in standing forest carbon stocks. Based on these results, it is argued that in order for Uganda to reduce emissions from its land use and land change sector it will require a multi-pronged strategy that takes a landscape approach that considers both forested and non-forest ecosystems. This approach also has to consider drivers of deforestation and degradation beyond the forestry sector.