Uganda, Feb. 12 -- The sense of urgency surrounding deforestation is not just a distant concern but a stark reality, already impacting our present and imminent future. The ramifications of deforestation are becoming increasingly evident from natural disasters such as landslides, floods, and wildfires, to the loss of numerous plant and animal species, among others.

As a newly-appointed fellow at Forest House in Bugolobi, the headquarters of the National Forestry Authority (NFA), a government agency mandated to oversee the sustainable management of 506 Central Forest Reserves (CFRs) covering 1,263,743 hectares and to provide technical support to stakeholders in the forestry sub-sector, I am confronted with the urgent reality of deforestati...