The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has significantly reduced the backlog in processing developer certificates, achieving an improvement of more than 300%.

During a meeting with members of the Uganda Association of Impact Assessment (UAIA), NEMA’s Executive Director, Dr. Barirega Akankwasah, emphasized the Authority’s commitment to streamlining environmental assessments and expediting the issuance of operational certificates for developers in Uganda. He highlighted the introduction of the Environment and Social Information Assessment (ESIA) system—an online platform that enables practitioners to register and submit assessment reports for verification by NEMA, thereby enhancing efficiency and transparency.

UAIA President, Mr. Dansan Asiimwe, commended NEMA for its progress in Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs) and audits. He urged developers and practitioners to uphold integrity by avoiding corruption, solicitation, and misconduct, stressing that thorough assessments are essential for ensuring that operational certificates are granted only to environmentally compliant entities.

Statistical Progress in ESIA Certifications

• 2018–2019 FY: 1,618 applications received; 1,125 certified
• 2019–2020 FY: 1,381 applications received; 991 certified
• 2020–2021 FY: 1,873 applications received; 1,478 certified
• 2021–2022 FY: 3,565 applications received; 2,490 certified
• 2022–2023 FY: 4,761 applications received; 5,143 certified (including backlogs)
• 2024–2025 FY: 4,150  applications received; 4,589 certified

This growth reflects a remarkable improvement in ESIA certificate approvals, rising from 1,125 in 2018 to 4,589 in 2025—an increase of over 300%.

During the engagement;

• Ms. Nancy Alimadi, Manager of Environment Monitoring, Inspections, and Audits at NEMA, explained the distinctions between compliance and enforcement audits, including when they should be conducted and the applicable fees.
• Mr. Isaac J. Ntujju, Manager of Oil, Gas, and Mineral Resources at NEMA, outlined guidelines for Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) to support practitioners in their work.
• Ms. Aiden Jullian Asekenye guided practitioners through the ESIA process.
• Mr. Kato Philip introduced the Environment Licensing Information System (ELMIS), NEMA’s online platform for licensing and certification.

For more information, visit NEMA eServices Portal: www.eservices.nema.go.ug