Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) Uganda and the National Forestry Authority (NFA) on Tuesday began restoring 19 hectares of degraded land in Mabira Central Forest Reserve, advancing a public-private campaign to rebuild Uganda’s shrinking tree cover.
Launching the project in the Nanga section of the Nyamawanyi block, Water and Environment Minister Sam Cheptoris said the partnership “shows how private capital can accelerate the government’s target to raise national forest cover from 9.5 percent to 24 percent by 2040.” The 2025/26 budget earmarks UGX 50 billion for reforestation, with Mabira listed as a flagship site.
DTB’s head of sustainability Kaziro Kyambadde told reporters the bank will finance work on 19,000 hectares in Mabira over the next decade, complementing NFA’s pledge to restore 2.5 million hectares country-wide by 2030. “Clear government guidelines and aggressive enforcement give investors confidence that planted trees will survive,” he said.
NFA public-relations officer Juliet Mubi said the project applies Uganda’s Collaborative Forest Management model, which lets neighbouring communities earn from beekeeping, eco-tourism and herbal collection while guarding against encroachment. According to NFA data, community activities around Mabira have created more than 5,000 jobs since 2022.
Sector manager Richard Jonas Ogen reported 85 arrests for illegal logging inside Mabira in the past three months. “The judiciary’s swift handling of these cases shows zero tolerance is working,” he noted.
DTB began funding forest work in 2023 and now supports 26,000 hectares of restoration sites nationwide. The Mabira operation involves removing invasive species, enriching gaps with indigenous seedlings and setting up fire lines before the dry season.
Government planners view the scheme as critical to Uganda’s Bonn Challenge and Paris Agreement pledges. Finance-ministry figures show reforestation programmes have attracted US$120 million in external grants and concessional loans since 2020.
President Museveni, in a June 2025 speech, emphasized the importance of such partnerships: “Our forests are strategic national wealth. Partnerships such as DTB-NFA will secure them for future generations.”
The ministry says similar bank-backed projects are being prepared for Karamoja and West Nile, where forest loss is fastest.
