Uganda National Land Policy.

The Uganda National Land Policy is a national policy of the Republic of Uganda whose main goal is to ensure an efficient, equitable and optimal utilization and management of Uganda’s land resources for poverty reduction, wealth creation and overall socio-economic development.To this end, the document provides for a set of goals, including in the area of environment. Namely, the document aims to ensure that natural resources are optimally used and sustainably managed for the benefit of the present and future generations; to take measures to restore, maintain and enhance the integrity of natural resources; to enhance the effectiveness of the framework for environmental management; to ensure that all land use practices conform to land use plans and the principles of sound environmental management, including biodiversity preservation, soil and water protection, conservation and sustainable land management.The objectives of the Policy are to stimulate the contribution of the land sector to overall socio-economic development, wealth creation and poverty reduction in Uganda; to harmonize and streamline the complex tenure regimes in Uganda for equitable access to land and security of tenure; to clarify the complex and ambiguous constitutional and legal framework for sustainable management and stewardship of land resources; to redress historical injustices to protect the land rights of groups and communities marginalized by history or on the basis of gender, religion, ethnicity and other forms of vulnerability to achieve balanced growth and social equity; to reform and streamline land rights administration to ensure the efficient, effective and equitable delivery of land services; to ensure sustainable utilization, protection and management of environmental, natural and cultural resources on land for national socio-economic development; to ensure planned, environmentally friendly, affordable and orderly development of human settlements for both rural and urban areas, including infrastructure development; and to harmonize all land-related policies and laws, and strengthen institutional capacity at all levels of the government and cultural institutions for the sustainable management of land resources.In the area of climate change, the document targets to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change, mainstream sustainable management of the environment and natural resources; to put in place strategies to mitigate and adapt to climate, on the population and the economy; and to develop a framework for compliance with all international commitments on management of climate change.The government of the Republic of Uganda will institutionalize a monitoring, evaluation and review framework for the implementation of the Policy. The government plans to develop and apply responsible indicators for monitoring and evaluation system and undertake periodic reviews of the land sector performance and the policy by identifying persistent and/or new issues requiring further policy interventions at least every 5 years.