Lessons learned from citizen activism in Uganda: saving Mabira forest

In August 2006, the Ugandan Cabinet proposed to give away 7,100 of the 30,000 hectares of Mabira forest to the Mehta group of companies – producers of sugar – to expand their sugar plantation acreage. Government should not have been surprised at the forcefulness of the public outcry against the proposal. New laws and new sentiments had generated a greater public awareness of the value of Uganda’s eco-systems, particularly its forests. This successful campaign presents lessons and tactics in approaching the broader issue of governance through an environmental lens.