{"id":28742,"date":"2026-05-25T09:41:30","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T06:41:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nema.go.ug\/en\/?p=28742"},"modified":"2026-05-25T10:06:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T07:06:00","slug":"nema-celebrates-international-day-for-biodiversity-by-planting-15000-indigenous-trees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nema.go.ug\/en\/nema-celebrates-international-day-for-biodiversity-by-planting-15000-indigenous-trees\/","title":{"rendered":"NEMA Celebrates International Day for Biodiversity by Planting 15,000+ Indigenous Trees."},"content":{"rendered":"

The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has intensified restoration efforts by planting over 15,000 indigenous tree species in preparation for the International Day for Biodiversity (IDB), to be commemorated on May 22, 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n

A team led by the Commissioner for Enforcement and Field Operations, representing the NEMA Executive Director, officially flagged off the exercise at River Makhuba. Restoration activities included planting species such as Gravela, Prunus Africana, and bamboo grasses along 4.5 km of River Makhuba in Mbale District, while other teams worked on River Sundet in Kween District.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
NEMA Commissioner for Enforcement and Field Operations, Mr. Victor Nahabwe (Right) participating in the restoration exercise at River Makhuba<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Civil society organisations such as Towerco for Africa donated 9,300 assorted indigenous seedlings, and more partners encouraged to join.<\/span><\/p>\n

This year\u2019s IDB was celebrated under the national theme: \u201cActing locally to restore degraded ecosystems\u201d, aligned with the international theme: \u201cActing locally for global impact.\u201d Community participation was central to the exercise, with local leaders, women, men, and youth actively involved. In total, over 20,000 indigenous trees and grasses were planted across Mbale and Kween districts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking at the event in Bukiende Sub-county, Mbale District, chief guest Eng. Maximo Twinomuhanji, Principal Hydrologist at the Ministry of Water and Environment, emphasised that local community involvement is critical to the success of restoration activities. NEMA Board Chairperson Prof. James Okot-Okumu echoed this, stressing that sustainability depends on active community engagement. Mr. Ogwal Francis Sabino, Commissioner for Environment Planning and Coordination at NEMA, highlighted the broader impact: \u201cWhen you\u2019re talking about environment protection in Uganda, the benefits go far beyond us\u2026 including Egypt. The Mt. Elgon landscape provides both local and global benefits.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The restoration exercise and IDB celebrations are supported by the Mt. Elgon Project, housed within NEMA, with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has intensified restoration efforts by planting over 15,000 indigenous tree species in preparation for the International Day for Biodiversity (IDB), to be commemorated on May 22, 2026. A team led by the Commissioner for Enforcement and Field Operations, representing the NEMA Executive Director, officially flagged off the exercise at … Continue reading “NEMA Celebrates International Day for Biodiversity by Planting 15,000+ Indigenous Trees.”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":28748,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[91,67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mt-elgon-project","category-news-updates"],"yoast_head":"\nNEMA Celebrates International Day for Biodiversity by Planting 15,000+ Indigenous Trees. - NEMA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nema.go.ug\/en\/nema-celebrates-international-day-for-biodiversity-by-planting-15000-indigenous-trees\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NEMA Celebrates International Day for Biodiversity by Planting 15000 Indigenous Trees.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has intensified restoration efforts by planting over 15,000 indigenous tree species in preparation for the International Day for Biodiversity (IDB), to be commemorated on May 22, 2026.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nema.go.ug\/en\/nema-celebrates-international-day-for-biodiversity-by-planting-15000-indigenous-trees\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEMA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-25T06:41:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-25T07:06:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nema.go.ug\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_2311-1-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Webmaster NEMA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"NEMA Celebrates International Day for Biodiversity by Planting 15000 Indigenous Trees.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has intensified restoration efforts by planting over 15,000 indigenous tree species in preparation for the International Day for Biodiversity (IDB), to be commemorated on May 22, 2026.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nema.go.ug\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_2311-1-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Webmaster NEMA\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nema.go.ug\\\/en\\\/nema-celebrates-international-day-for-biodiversity-by-planting-15000-indigenous-trees\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nema.go.ug\\\/en\\\/nema-celebrates-international-day-for-biodiversity-by-planting-15000-indigenous-trees\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Webmaster NEMA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nema.go.ug\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9f09d61c3ce441877e090c79e0899102\"},\"headline\":\"NEMA Celebrates International Day for Biodiversity by Planting 15,000+ Indigenous Trees.\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-25T06:41:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-25T07:06:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nema.go.ug\\\/en\\\/nema-celebrates-international-day-for-biodiversity-by-planting-15000-indigenous-trees\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":322,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nema.go.ug\\\/en\\\/nema-celebrates-international-day-for-biodiversity-by-planting-15000-indigenous-trees\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nema.go.ug\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/IMG_2311-1-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Mt. 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