Museveni’s New Term Amidst Climate Change: A Match Uganda Must Win

The ballots have been counted, verified, loved by many and disputed by a non-negligible number. Whatever the conviction we have in our hearts, history has finally accepted and recorded this win. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has once again won the presidency, this time with nearly 72 per cent of the vote, defeating seven challengers and extending his stay in power for another five years. If we do not beseech him to stand again, by the end of this new term, President Museveni will have led Uganda for an extraordinary 45 years. Impressive!

Today, the Old Man with the Hat marches on, steady as ever, into another term promising continuity, stability, and the protection of Uganda’s gains. But as the political dust settles, one truth refuses to be sworn in or sworn out: the ballot is done; the environment is still counting. The new term is not just Museveni versus opponents. It is Museveni in the ring with climate change, and this is one match Uganda cannot afford to lose.

Uganda Won the Election, Can Nature Win Too?

Uganda, famously dubbed the Pearl of Africa, remains one of the most naturally gifted countries on the continent. Lush forests, life-giving wetlands, vast lakes, fertile soils, and biodiversity that still draws admiration. Yet these gifts are thinning out quietly, without rallies, posters, or polling agents.

Every year, Uganda loses about 120,000 hectares of forest, driven by illegal logging, charcoal burning, and agricultural expansion. According to the National Management Authority (NEMA), Uganda’s wetland coverage has declined significantly over the past few decades. For instance, between 1994 and 2019, wetland area dropped from about 15.6% of Uganda’s land area to around 8.9%. And Lake Victoria and Lake Albert, once symbols of abundance, are now under pressure from industrial discharge and plastic pollution.

Kampala alone generates roughly 2,000 metric tonnes of waste daily, nearly 30 per cent plastic, much of it finding its way into drainage channels and water bodies. One might joke that fish are adapting to urban diets, but plastic has no nutritional value – only long-term hurting consequences. The worry now is: Uganda may have won the election, but can nature win too?

Climate Change: An Uninvited Incumbent?

Climate change is not waiting for the next manifesto. It is already on the ground, campaigning aggressively.

Rainfall patterns have become as unpredictable as a Kampala boda boda rider on a Monday morning. Droughts linger longer, floods arrive faster, and seasons no longer follow the calendar. For a country where more than 70 per cent of the population depends on agriculture, contributing about 24 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product, this statistic points to an economic emergency.

In Karamoja, recurring droughts continue to fuel food insecurity and malnutrition. In Butaleja and parts of Busoga, floods have displaced families, destroyed crops, and turned survival into a yearly ritual. Climate change does not care who won the election; it only counts vulnerabilities.

I hope Ugandans are aware that unlike elections, nature does not offer extensions or reruns. Wetlands either absorb floods or they don’t. Forests either regulate climate or they vanish. And once lost, remember, ecosystems do not respond to court petitions. That is why the next chapter of Uganda’s story must focus less on who governs and more on how we govern the environment, starting from the grassroots.

Real Victory Rests in Citizen Action

Environmental salvation does not begin in international conferences or air-conditioned boardrooms. It begins in villages, schools, markets, homes, and even at our local polling centres. That is the beauty of local action.

For instance, in Mbale, communities around Mount Elgon have embraced agroforestry, blending tree planting with farming. The results are tangible: improved soil fertility, reduced erosion, and up to 30 per cent higher crop yields. Trees, it turns out, are excellent development partners.

In other parts of the country, NEMA’s Yonja Uganda campaign has shown what collective action can achieve. Recent clean-up drives and recycling initiatives removed tonnes of kaveera waste from the environment. A single campaign in Lukaya, and another one in Namawojjolo collected numerous tonnes of litter in just hours. This is proof that citizen action can outpace excuses. And this is where national victory truly begins: local action with national impact.

Tough Decisions, Necessary Pain

Previously, government has taken bold and sometimes unpopular, steps to secure some gains. In 2023 and 2024, NEMA led decisive evictions of encroachers from the Lubigi Wetland System, sending a clear message that environmental laws are not suggestions. Earlier interventions around Lake Kyoga restored critical wetland functions, improving water quality and fish breeding grounds. Similar actions were in Nambigirwa, Lwera, Namatala, Rwizi, and many other places.

Frameworks such as the National Climate Change Policy, the Uganda Green Growth Development Strategy, and the Parish Development Model are embedding sustainability into development planning. The ban on polythene bags below 30 microns, though still awkward, is another step in the right direction. Of course we all know enforcement still needs sharper teeth to bite those against the ban. Policies exist, yes, but what remains is consistent implementation.

Media, Schools, and the Battle for Minds

The media has become a powerful environmental watchdog. Investigative reporting has exposed illegal logging networks, while radio and TV campaigns are increasingly reshaping public attitudes. Collaborations between NEMA and media/journalists continue to raise public awareness of environmental laws significantly.

Schools are nurturing the next generation of environmental stewards. Tree-planting exercises, rainwater harvesting, and waste segregation are no longer extracurricular. They are essential. Hundreds of schools continue to plant indigenous trees, quietly restoring what previous generations depleted.

Winning the Right Match

As President Museveni embarks on yet another term, Uganda stands at a familiar crossroads. Political stability has been secured. The question now is whether environmental stability will follow. Leaders can win elections repeatedly, yes, but nature gives only one term.

Uganda has won the ballot. We must now win the environment war. And that victory will not be declared by the Electoral Commission, but by clean water bodies and roads, standing forests, living wetlands, and resilient communities. The ballot is done. The environment is waiting, giving us one more chance to live. And this is one match Uganda must win.

Let us protect our environment by sustainably making use of it. Specifically, if you can, rally behind the President and do one thing for our Mother Nature daily. Choose to: protect, conserve, safeguard, preserve, enforce, mitigate, restore, rescue, relocate, shield, defend, decarbonise, agroforest, enrich, compost, mulch, desilt, clean, purify, reduce, reuse, recycle, recover, treat, reforest, replenish and much more.

Mr. Lubuulwa is the Senior Public Relations Officer at NEMA.