GCF Backs Uganda’s Forest Gains with $31m Payout
Songdo/Rome: Uganda has secured a $31 million grant-based payment from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) in recognition of its verified success in reducing deforestation and cutting greenhouse gas emissions — a move that marks a first for Africa and for any Least Developed Country under the Fund’s results-based finance mechanism. The project, formally titled “Uganda REDD+ Results-Based Payment for Emission Reductions (2016–2017)”, was presented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), acting as the accredited entity on behalf of the Government of Uganda, at the forty-third meeting of the GCF Board held from 27 to 30 October 2025 in Songdo, Republic of Korea.
The approval represents the first results-based payment project for Uganda, for the African continent, and for a Least Developed Country (LDC), underscoring a significant recognition of Uganda’s measurable progress in climate mitigation. It follows several years of verified results under the global REDD+ framework, a voluntary climate mitigation mechanism established under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
REDD+ stands for ‘Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation’, with the “+” encompassing conservation of forest carbon stocks, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks through reforestation and restoration. This mechanism incentivises developing countries to protect and restore forests by offering financial rewards based on verified reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from forest loss—since tropical deforestation accounts for 10–15% of global emissions, more than all transportation combined. REDD+ operates in three structured phases: Phase 1 (Readiness) involves building national forest monitoring systems using satellites and ground data, developing legal frameworks, securing land rights, and engaging Indigenous communities through Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC); Phase 2 (Implementation) scales on-the-ground actions such as curbing illegal logging, promoting climate-smart agriculture, establishing community-managed plantations, and restoring degraded lands; and Phase 3 (Results-Based Payments) delivers funding—grants or carbon credits—only after independent third-party verification confirms emission reductions in tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (tCO₂e), ensuring no payment without proof. The “+” expands the original REDD concept (focused solely on avoiding deforestation and degradation) to include proactive measures like planting trees in degraded areas, protecting intact primary forests, and supporting sustainable timber harvesting, all while prioritising social safeguards, biodiversity, and equitable benefit sharing.
The payout acknowledges that Uganda’s targeted efforts in sustainable forest management cut net emissions by the equivalent of more than 8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) between 2016 and 2017 — an amount comparable to growing 133 million tree seedlings for a decade.
According to FAO Director-General QU Dongyu, the GCF’s approval “shows how results-based finance can reward effective climate action and deliver benefits for people and nature” and stands as “a recognition of Uganda’s efforts and achievements.” He added that the project demonstrates how early investments in readiness and capacity building “can yield transformative results for forests, food security, and communities,” and constitutes an “important milestone for Africa.”
Uganda’s forests, covering about 2.36 million hectares, provide critical ecosystem services, regulate the national climate, and sustain livelihoods for rural communities. Yet, as noted by the Ministry of Water and Environment, about 90 per cent of forest loss in Uganda is driven by agricultural conversion for food and livestock production, including cassava cultivation and cattle grazing.
In welcoming the GCF Board’s decision, Alfred Okot Okidi, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Water and Environment, said that the results-based revenue “is part of Uganda’s ambitious mobilisation of climate finance” and shows that “patience in this space of strategic importance pays off.”
Projects under the GCF’s results-based payment framework, such as the Uganda initiative, are globally recognised as a cost-effective mechanism to achieve measurable climate mitigation outcomes. The FAO, acting as technical and fiduciary lead, has previously assisted Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Papua New Guinea in accessing similar GCF support, together amounting to $237 million in results-based payments.
The $31 million disbursement to Uganda will be directed toward advancing further goals that relieve pressure on ecosystems and enhance local resilience. FAO will work with the Government of Uganda to ensure that funds are channelled into community-based initiatives that strengthen climate resilience and promote sustainable forest management. The initiative aims to simultaneously improve food security, governance, and land tenure while generating new income opportunities for rural populations.
For instance, community-based pole and timber plantations are expected to reduce the distances rural women must travel to collect firewood, while collective forest management and land rights agreements are designed to minimise local conflicts and reinforce community ownership of forest resources. A Benefit Sharing System will ensure equitable distribution of resources, particularly benefiting forest-dependent Indigenous Peoples and other vulnerable groups such as women.
The FAO has been involved with Uganda’s REDD+ process from its early stages, providing technical support through a comprehensive REDD+ readiness phase. This included the creation of an inclusive National REDD+ Strategy and Action Plan, which established the policy and institutional framework necessary for sustainable forest conservation and emissions reduction. These efforts laid the foundation for the results now rewarded by the GCF and contributed to the development of a nationally coordinated, socially inclusive, and environmentally sustainable forest management strategy.
The new project also supports Uganda’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, consolidating its commitment to create a scalable, climate-resilient model that integrates biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, and forest-based livelihoods.
The FAO-GCF collaboration forms part of a broader global effort to strengthen climate financing for low-income and forest-rich nations. The FAO-GCF portfolio now totals $1.8 billion, including 114 readiness grants—38 of which are in Africa—and 29 investment projects that collectively benefit more than 60 million people worldwide.
Officials described Uganda’s results-based success as an encouraging demonstration of how verified emission reductions can unlock tangible financial rewards and set replicable models for other African nations seeking to combine forest protection with rural development. The GCF Board’s approval thus signals not only validation of Uganda’s achievements but also the growing confidence in Africa’s institutional capacity to deliver measurable outcomes under global climate finance mechanisms.
– global bihari bureau
