Deforestation: a Ugandan perspective on climate change

Florine and Clement both worked in Fort Portal, in Uganda in 2025 for Enabel. They discovered a shared interest and passion: the issue of deforestation and conservation in their surroundings. Both having a different perspective on this topic, they wanted to better understand its complexity. How does deforestation impact communities, and what is their involvement and perception about conservation and reforestation projects?  

Florine, as a bioengineer specializing in tropical forestry, brings a scientific perspective, while Clement offers a Ugandan, human-centered approach, emphasizing the challenges faced by communities and exploring solutions to this global challenge: climate change. Together, they created a short video documentary to capture these challenges and look for solutions.  Watch the video below.

Fort Portal is located at the heart of a region surrounded by stunning National Parks, such as Kibale, Queen Elizabeth, and Rwenzori Mountains. While these parks protect rich biodiversity, much of the surrounding landscape has been taken over by agriculture, highlighting the delicate and challenging balance between conservation and community development in the region.

Clement and Florine, having a different perspective on this topic, started engaging with different actors involved in conservation and restauration projects to better understand its complexity. How does deforestation impact communities, and what is their involvement and perception about conservation and reforestation projects?

In January 2025, they conducted interviews with several actors in 3 districts around Fort Portal and bordering Kibale National Park: Kabarole, Kamwenge and Kitagwenda Districts, all of them being part of the broader Rwenzori Region.