Uganda Environment - 2024

Environment - current issues

draining of wetlands for agricultural use; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial discharge and water hyacinth infestation in Lake Victoria; widespread poaching

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification

Climate

tropical; generally rainy with two dry seasons (December to February, June to August); semiarid in northeast

Land use

agricultural land: 71.2% (2018 est.)

arable land: 34.3% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 11.3% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 25.6% (2018 est.)

forest: 14.5% (2018 est.)

other: 14.3% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 26.8% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 5.41% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Food insecurity

severe localized food insecurity:due to weather extremes, civil insecurity, and high food prices- in Karamoja Region, about 518,000 people, 41% of the population, are estimated to be severely food insecure between March and July 2022, as a result of consecutive poor rainy seasons that adversely affected crop and livestock production, frequent episodes of cattle rustling leading to the loss of productive assets, and high food prices (2022)

Revenue from forest resources

7.32% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 31.31 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 5.68 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 30.24 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 7,045,050 tons (2016 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 422,703 tons (2017 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 6% (2017 est.)

Major lakes (area sq km)

fresh water lake(s): Lake Victoria (shared with Tanzania and Kenya) - 62,940 sq km; Lake Albert (shared with Democratic Republic of Congo) - 5,590 sq km; Lake Kyoga - 4,430 sq km; Lake Edward (shared with Democratic Republic of Congo) - 2,150 sq km

Major rivers (by length in km)

Nile (shared with Rwanda [s], Tanzania, South Sudan, Sudan, and Egypt [m]) - 6,650 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: Congo (3,730,881 sq km), (Mediterranean Sea) Nile (3,254,853 sq km)

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 330 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 50 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 260 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

60.1 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)