The lunchtime crowd is beginning to swell at Golden Tulip Hotel in Kampala. Business executives drift in and out of meetings. Waiters weave through the dining area carrying trays of food.
Through the windows, the city stretches toward the horizon, bustling with the urgency that defines Uganda’s capital.
At a quiet table sits Ms Pauline Nantongo Kalunda, executive director of ECOTRUST, one of Uganda’s best-known conservation organisations.
Over the next two hours, our conversation moves effortlessly from climate change to basketball, from faith to failure, from conservation policy to the lessons she learned teaching Sunday school.
The first question is perhaps the simplest. Who is Pauline Nantongo Kalunda? The answer arrives without hesitation. ‘I am a scientist, a christian and a Ugandan. That’s it.’
The response is striking in its brevity. For someone who has spent more than three decades working in conservation and community development, overseeing programmes that have touched tens of thousands of households across Uganda, there is no lengthy recitation of achievements.
Instead, the simplicity appears deliberate. As the conversation unfolds, it becomes clear that Ms Kalunda is less interested in titles than in purpose.
Scientist by accident
Ms Kalunda never intended to build a career in conservation. Like several bright students of her generation, she had her sights set on medicine. ‘I started out thinking of going to medical school,’ she said.
But life had other plans. The grades she obtained at the time determined which faculty she would join at university, and instead of medicine she found herself admitted to the Faculty of Forestry.
She had no idea what the future held. Yet the unexpected detour would shape the course of her life. Rather than dwelling on disappointment, she embraced the opportunity before her.
‘From a long time ago, you throw something at me and I try to optimise whatever it is that has been thrown at me.’ Ms Kalunda studied zoology and psychology and later pursued business administration.
Along the way, she worked with Wildlife Clubs of Uganda and Nature Uganda, organisations she describes as foundational to her professional development.
Those experiences exposed her to both ends of the conservation spectrum. On one hand were local communities, schools and farmers.
On the other were international conversations about species conservation, ecosystems and environmental policy. It was a combination that helped her understand how local actions connect to global challenges.
Lessons from the court
Long before she became a conservation leader, Ms Kalunda was an athlete. Basketball was her sport of choice. Rugby, however, proved a much shorter adventure.
Laughing at the memory, she recounted how she briefly joined efforts to help train a developing women’s rugby side. The experience would last three matches.
‘In the first game, I played and I think because we were big and tall, the kids were fearing us,’ she said.
By the second game, one of the younger players had successfully tackled her. ‘In the third game, it was bloody. I decided no.’
The rugby chapter ended there. ‘I was coming from basketball. As much as someone touches you, the whistle blows. And here is someone bringing you down and throwing you like you’re a bag of potatoes and there will be no whistle.’
Yet sport left a lasting mark on her outlook. She believes every child should experience competitive sport, not necessarily to become a champion but to learn lessons that classrooms often cannot teach. ‘You learn that injustices exist, but they don’t define you,’ she said. ‘You also learn to lose honourably.’
Learning to lose Failure, Ms Kalunda said, has never frightened her. That attitude is unusual in a world where careers are often measured by victories, promotions and awards.
For her, success lies not only in outcomes but also in what is learned along the way. ‘I don’t fear failure that much,’ she said.
When a proposal is rejected or a competition lost, she chooses to focus on what was gained rather than what was missed. ‘I’m able to appreciate the small gains I’ve made, even if I’ve not achieved the prize.’
Perhaps the clearest example came during a difficult moment in her career. An idea she had helped develop achieved success, but another individual was receiving most of the recognition. The situation frustrated her.
Seeking advice, she turned to a friend. His response changed her perspective. ‘He asked me, ‘when you were all coming up with this idea, what was it for?” The answer was simple: to benefit a community. The friend then asked whether the community was still benefiting. When Ms Kalunda answered in the affirmative, the matter was settled. ‘He said, ‘Rest your case’.’ The lesson has remained with her ever since. ‘Whatever vision you had is being executed. If another person finds it important to get credit, that is noise.’ She pauses before repeating the phrase. ‘That is noise.’
Understanding people
One of the recurring themes throughout lunch is people. For all her scientific training, Ms Kalunda speaks as much about human behaviour as she does about forests or climate change.
Teaching Sunday school, playing team sports and working with communities across Uganda taught her to observe people closely.
Someone may be rude, difficult or even unpleasant. That does not mean they lack talent. ‘There are times I’m in a meeting and then I say, ‘this is going to end like this,” she said.
Others may disagree, but she has learned to read body language, reactions and motivations. Those observations have become one of her most valuable leadership tools.
What farmers know
Much of ECOTRUST’s work revolves around smallholder farmers. Yet Ms Kalunda is quick to challenge the assumption that development organisations are always the teachers.
‘The other ones are actually good teachers. So, it’s a two-way street,’ she said. She described farmers as natural innovators, constantly experimenting and adapting to changing circumstances.
The challenge, she explained, is often one of translation. Farmers possess practical knowledge built through experience. Scientists and investors operate in technical language.
Her role frequently involves bridging those worlds. ‘What we do, we technically specify what they do, so that investors can invest in it.’
The admiration is evident. Over the years, she has repeatedly encountered examples of ingenuity that challenge conventional assumptions about rural communities. One story stands out.
A smallholder farmer initially planted trees for timber production. Years later, he discovered that the leaves from those same trees were in demand for herbal medicine. Instead of waiting decades for timber revenues, he began harvesting leaves regularly.
‘Every two weeks I get a lot more money than I will ever get from timber,’ the farmer told her. The lesson was profound. ‘There are lots of opportunities around us,’ Ms Kalunda said.
Faith as a compass
Throughout the conversation, faith emerges as the thread connecting every aspect of Ms Kalunda’s life. For her, Christianity is not separate from work. It shapes how she approaches leadership, conflict and success. ‘Everything that you do, do it as unto the Lord,’ she said.
That principle influences both effort and integrity. ‘If you’re doing it for God, then you really had better give it your all.’ Faith also provides a sense of security.
‘At some point in time, I decided I am a child of the Most High God,’ she said. ‘You have to do so much to bring me down.’ The conviction is neither boastful nor defensive. Rather, it reflects an inner confidence that allows her to navigate setbacks without being consumed by them.
Beyond climate change
As lunch progresses, the conversation shifts to climate change. For Ms Kalunda, one of the greatest challenges is that many people do not realise how deeply it affects their lives. ‘They don’t know,’ she said repeatedly.
‘They don’t know why the prices of food in the market are changing. They don’t know that it has a relationship with drought. They don’t know that it has a relationship with flood. Uganda’s dependence on natural resources makes it particularly vulnerable.
Changes in rainfall, disease patterns and agricultural productivity are already affecting communities. She pointed to highland areas where malaria was once rare but is now increasingly common as temperatures rise.
Climate change, she argued, is not merely an environmental issue. It affects health, food security, incomes and economic development. Yet she believes solutions exist. The first step is protecting ecosystems that already shield communities from climate shocks. The second is recognising that conservation and economic development are not opposing goals.
The future of conservation
As coffee cups are cleared and lunch draws to a close, Ms Kalunda returns to a theme that has surfaced repeatedly throughout the conversation. Conservation, she said, cannot rely solely on goodwill. People must see value in protecting nature.
‘The Ecotrust model is based on landscape restoration as a business,’ she explained. ‘Not because they are saving the world. But because it makes economic sense to do so.’
It is an approach that has helped thousands of households improve their livelihoods while restoring degraded landscapes. And it reflects a broader philosophy that seems to define her career.
Whether discussing conservation, leadership or personal growth, Ms Kalunda consistently rejects the idea that success belongs only to those who stand in the spotlight. What matters, she insists, is whether the mission is achieved.