Uganda has lost nearly half of its forests since 1990, even as the world records a slowdown in deforestation, according to the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2025 (FRA 2025) released by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) this past week.
The FAO data indicate that Uganda’s forest area declined from 4.55 million hectares in 1990 to 2.37 million hectares in 2025, representing a 48 percent loss over 35 years. This translates to an average loss of about 38,000 hectares of forest per year between 2020 and 2025, an improvement from the 124,000 hectares cleared annually in the 1990s, but still a substantial decline in natural forest cover.
While the numbers indicate that Uganda’s rate of forest loss is slowing, the quality and type of forests are changing. The country’s naturally regenerating forests, mainly tropical high forests and woodlands, have declined steadily, while planted forests have expanded. How exactly does the slowdown-cum-recovery look like?
The FRA 2025 provides a comprehensive overview of global forest trends based on data from 236 countries and territories. It shows that global deforestation has slowed over the past three decades.
Worldwide, forest area declined from 4.28 billion hectares in 1990 to 4.14 billion hectares in 2025, resulting in a net loss of approximately 140 million hectares.
Deforestation rates fell from 17.6 million hectares per year in the 1990s to 10.9 million hectares annually between 2015 and 2025. Forests now cover about 32 percent of the Earth’s land area, and 54 percent of these forests are under formal management plans.
About 20 percent of the world’s forests, roughly 813 million hectares, lie within legally protected areas. Yet the FAO notes that progress is uneven. While Asia and Europe have seen net forest gains due to large-scale restoration and plantation programmes, Africa and South America continue to record the world’s fastest rates of natural forest loss.
Africa’s forest area fell from 749 million hectares in 1990 to 622 million hectares in 2025, a 17 percent decline. South America lost 12 percent of its forests over the same period. In contrast, Europe’s forest cover grew slightly, from 1.00 billion hectares to 1.03 billion hectares, largely because of reforestation policies and sustainable management practices.
What does the picture look like in Uganda?
Uganda’s pattern of forest change closely follows the African trend. The country’s total forest area declined by 48 percent between 1990 and 2025, with much of this loss concentrated in naturally regenerating forests. In 1990, at least 4.38 million hectares of Uganda’s forests were naturally regenerating and 170,000 hectares were planted. By 2025, natural forests had declined to 1.85 million hectares, while planted forests expanded to 514,000 hectares.
This means 78 percent of Uganda’s remaining forests are natural, compared to more than 96 percent in 1990. The share of planted forests has, therefore, tripled over the past three decades from 3.7 percent to 21.7 percent of total forest area.
This shift aligns with Africa’s broader pattern, where natural forests continue to shrink while plantation forests expand. The FRA 2025 attributes this to population growth, demand for agricultural land, and energy needs, which push communities to clear natural forests even as governments and private investors plant commercial tree species.
Uganda’s annual rate of forest loss has decreased since 1990, but the slowdown does not yet indicate recovery. The FAO data shows that the country’s deforestation rate fell from 2.7 percent per year in the 1990s to 0.8 percent per year between 2020 and 2025. This trend is similar to the global trajectory, where deforestation rates have nearly halved since the 1990s.
However, Uganda’s total forest cover, at 11.8 percent of its land area in 2025, remains below both the African average of 21 percent and the global average of 32 percent.
The FAO also reports that the density and biomass of Uganda’s forests have declined. The country’s total growing stock, the volume of living trees, decreased from 447 million cubic metres in 1990 to 233 million cubic metres in 2025. This drop mirrors a global pattern of declining biomass in tropical regions, where forests are being replaced by younger or less diverse vegetation.
What are the implications on the ecological quality and carbon storage?
Per FAO’s data, Uganda’s average forest biomass density decreased from 114 tonnes per hectare in 2015 to 90 tonnes per hectare in 2025, while carbon stock density fell proportionally. Globally, forests hold about 662 gigatonnes of carbon, distributed mainly in biomass and soil.
On average, global forest carbon stock has remained relatively stable since 2000, but Africa’s share has declined because of ongoing natural forest degradation. Uganda’s figures fit within this continental pattern: fewer large, old trees and expanding plantations mean lower long-term carbon storage.
Planted forests in Uganda, mainly eucalyptus, pine, and cypress have higher short-term wood density but store less stable carbon than mature natural forests. This is consistent with FAO’s broader observation that while planted forests can reduce pressure on natural forests by supplying timber and energy, they do not fully substitute for the ecological functions of natural forests.
What does this all mean in terms of management and protection of forests?
According to FAO, Uganda has made progress in expanding forest areas under formal management and protection. Between 2010 and 2020, the country’s protected forest area increased from 1.13 million hectares to 1.52 million hectares, before stabilising at 1.43 million hectares in 2025. More than half of Uganda’s forest area, about 55 percent, is now under management plans, roughly in line with the global average. By comparison, 78 percent of European forests and 62 percent of Asian forests are managed under formal frameworks.
However, despite improved planning, the FAO data shows that Uganda’s natural forests outside protected areas continue to shrink.
Speak to the comparative picture.
In regional comparison, Uganda’s forest story reflects both improvement and vulnerability. The country’s deforestation rate has slowed faster than the sub-Saharan African average, which remains above one percent per year, but its total forest cover is still lower than that of countries like Tanzania (44 percent), Kenya (eight percent), and Rwanda (29 percent).
Asia, meanwhile, presents the strongest gains: countries such as China and India have expanded their forest cover through large-scale afforestation, increasing Asia’s forest area by over 45 million hectares since 1990. In Europe, sustainable forest management and natural regeneration have led to a steady net increase in forest area, reversing centuries of decline.
South America remains a hotspot for deforestation, losing more than 80 million hectares since 1990, mostly in the Amazon Basin. Africa’s decline, at 127 million hectares, is similar in scale, but the FAO notes that reforestation and land restoration initiatives are beginning to slow the loss. Uganda’s figures, therefore, place it in a middle position: among countries that are slowing deforestation but still facing serious natural forest depletion.
How about ownership and tenure?
The FAO report notes that forest ownership patterns significantly affect conservation outcomes. In Uganda, forests are a mix of public, private, and community ownership. About 1.93 million hectares are publicly owned, while 440,000 hectares are under private ownership or leasehold arrangements.
Globally, state ownership remains the dominant model, covering 73 percent of forests, though community and private ownership are rising in Asia and Latin America. The FAO data suggest that Uganda’s ownership distribution has remained relatively stable since 2010, with a slight increase in privately managed plantation areas, reflecting a regional trend toward commercial forestry investment.
And the contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs?
Uganda’s declining natural forest cover, combined with lower biomass density, suggests the country is not on track to meet SDG 15 (Life on Land) and SDG 13 (Climate Action) targets related to halting deforestation and enhancing carbon sinks by 2030.
Globally, the FAO reports that achieving zero deforestation by 2030 would require reducing the current rate of forest loss by nearly 70 percent. For Uganda, this would mean cutting annual losses from 38,000 hectares to below 12,000 hectares.
The FAO highlights that most regions are making progress toward expanding forest area under sustainable management, but only Asia is on track to achieve net forest gain by 2030.
The FRA 2025 concludes that while the global rate of deforestation has slowed, the world is still losing forests faster than they can regenerate. Uganda’s progress follows this same pattern: a slower rate of loss, but continued decline in natural forest ecosystems.
The FAO emphasises that reforestation and afforestation programmes must prioritise ecosystem restoration, not only tree planting, to achieve climate and biodiversity goals. The report notes that planted forests now make up seven percent of the world’s total forest area, but most are monocultures serving industrial or energy needs.
For Uganda, the data imply that while plantation forestry is expanding, it cannot replace the ecological functions of natural forests.
What’s the global and national bottom line?
The FRA 2025 paints a cautiously optimistic global picture of progress in management and planning, but persistent loss in natural forest cover. Uganda’s experience is emblematic of this tension: notable improvements in forest governance and replanting, yet an ongoing erosion of the country’s ecological base.
In 1990, Uganda’s forest cover accounted for 23 percent of its land area; today, it stands at just under 12 percent. Planted forests have tripled, but natural forests have halved. The trend is not unique; it mirrors much of tropical Africa, where development pressures and energy needs outpace restoration.
Globally, the FAO warns that the slowdown in forest loss should not be mistaken for recovery. For Uganda and many African nations, the next decade will determine whether the current trajectory leads to regeneration or to the irreversible decline of natural forests.
What about forest use and function
FAO categorises forests by their primary function: production, protection, biodiversity conservation, and social services.
In Uganda, 514,000 hectares of forests are designated primarily for production such as timber and fuelwood, while 818,000 hectares are reserved mainly for biodiversity and conservation purposes. The remainder serves multiple or unspecified functions.
This distribution shows that Uganda has maintained a balance between economic and ecological uses of its forests, though the total area under conservation has declined since 1990.
Globally, about 45 percent of forests are primarily designated for production, 25 percent for biodiversity conservation, and the rest for protection or mixed uses. Uganda’s ratios, therefore, align with the global pattern but on a smaller scale.