Уганда ужесточает регулирование углеродного рынка: 70% заявок одобрены, но фермерам предостерегают от спешки

Uganda is tightening regulation of its emerging carbon market as interest in carbon projects grows, with the Ministry of Water and Environment saying it has received 84 project proposals and issued letters of no objection to about 70 per cent of them. The development comes as stakeholders warn that the growth of the carbon market must be matched with stronger monitoring, transparency and community participation to ensure Ugandans benefit from the industry. The issues were raised at the East Africa Carbon Markets Forum in Kampala, which brought together government officials, investors, financiers, project developers and technical experts to discuss the development of carbon markets in Uganda and the region. Bob Natifu, Acting Commissioner for Climate Change and Carbon Trade at the Ministry of Water and Environment, said Uganda took nine years to agree on rules governing carbon trading before adopting the regulations in 2024. Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn "It's taken us nine years to agree to the rules of how this carbon market and carbon trade should work," Natifu said. He said the number of projects seeking approval shows growing interest in Uganda's carbon market. "If we receive about 84 projects and we issue letters of no objection to about 70 per cent of them, that means Uganda we are doing very, very well compared to what other countries are doing," he said. However, Anete Garoza, co-convenor of the forum and vice chairman of the Carbon Markets Association of Uganda, said carbon markets globally continue to face integrity and monitoring problems. "Carbon markets itself is still a very new mechanism, and it faces a lot of problems. It faces a lot of integrity problems. It faces a lot of monitoring issues," Garoza said. She said some carbon projects have not adequately benefited communities involved in activities such as carbon sequestration and carbon dioxide removal. Garoza said Uganda should use digital systems and build local expertise to improve transparency and monitoring. She added that the Ministry is developing a carbon registry to help make the market more transparent. She also called for closer cooperation between government, the private sector and development partners to mobilise funding for community engagement and climate action. Natifu, meanwhile, cautioned farmers against rushing into carbon projects after hearing about possible earnings from tree planting without understanding the financial and technical requirements. He said ministry assessments show that an agroforestry carbon project may require more than 600 hectares of land and at least $73,000 (about Shs270 million) to make business sense. "This mathematics is what we need to sensitise the farmers, so that they get to understand before they embark on this and avoid frustration," Natifu said. He said smallholder farmers can combine their land through programmes of activities, allowing several farmers to participate in one project and reach the scale required to make it viable. Natifu said the government is also checking how communities will benefit from carbon projects before approving them. "One of the things that we look out for is the benefit sharing and how many things are going to benefit, which was not there in the past," he said. Kenneth Muhangi, chairperson of the Carbon Markets Association of Uganda and co-convenor of the forum, said regulations should also be simplified so ordinary Ugandans can participate. "The biggest issue is how do you break down those regulations for the ordinary Ugandan to understand that if I have my farm, I have my maize, I have my beans, how can I participate in carbon markets?" Muhangi said. He urged Uganda to focus on developing domestic carbon markets instead of relying mainly on foreign financing. "If we're talking about finance rather than looking at finance from the U.S., finance from the EU, let's be focused on growing domestic carbon markets," Muhangi said.