Uganda accelerates locally led climate adaptation

Uganda, like many countries across the region, faces increasingly frequent and severe climate shocks, including long dry spells, floods and shifting rainfall patterns, issues that directly affect livelihoods, food security and more so, local economies.

These impacts are acutely felt at the local level in the districts local governments in the country, which are now vulnerable.

It is because of this that the Local Climate Adaptive Living (LoCAL) Facility was rolled out across several districts. The programme is a Government of Uganda programme implemented by the local government ministry with support from the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF). It enables districts to access climate finance and respond directly to the impacts of climate change.

Now, the Government of Uganda is accelerating locally led climate adaptation through the UNCDF LoCAL facility, growing from just four pilot districts in 2023 to 24 districts by FY 2026/2027.

For instance, in February this year, the Embassy of Denmark in Kampala committed $23.47 million to UNCDF to support rural communities in Uganda as they adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Over the next four years, the funds are expected to enable local governments and communities across the country to strengthen local economies using the UNCDF’s LoCAL+. For the first time, this will include a new component to enable future engagement with the private sector and unlock new investment for locally led, green economic development.

LoCAL is co-funded by the governments of Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, and the European Union. This funding is expected to contribute to the implementation of Uganda’s climate change mitigation initiative. This initiative, also known as the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) partnership, covers priority areas including climate-smart agriculture, energy conservation, and wetland restoration.

The districts are part of a rapidly expanding programme to put climate finance directly in the hands of communities on the frontlines of climate change.
Launched in 2011 and now active in 23 countries, LoCAL contributes directly to the Paris Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals, and national development priorities.

A growing national programme

In Uganda, the programme has grown rapidly. From an initial four pilot districts in 2023, LoCAL now covers 14 districts: Agago, Bulambuli, Kasese, Kiboga, Kakuube, Kitgum, Koboko, Kotido, Moroto, Nabilatuk, Nakapiripirit, Nebbi, Nwoya and Zombo, each having completed at least one grant cycle.

A further 10 new districts – Amuru, Bukedea, Bukwo, Butaleja, Gulu, Kyankwanzi, Napak, Pallisa, Rwampara and Terego – are set to begin implementation, bringing the total to 24 local governments, representing nearly 20% of all district local governments in the country.
UNDF programme specialist LoCAL facility Justine Audrian said: "This year marks a significant evolution: LoCAL+ will expand the model by adding market-based financing, including loans and guarantees, to complement the existing grants mechanism, enabling national financial institutions to mobilise private capital for locally led adaptation."

Acting commissioner for climate change at the water and environment ministry's climate change department, Bob Natifu, who represented permanent secretary Dr Alfred Okot Okidi at the workshop, welcomed the programme's transformative potential while sounding a note of urgency.

"Physical space is already shrinking, and grants are reducing each day," he warned.
"This kind of approach will help us address climate change issues more sustainably."

Natifu reaffirmed the ministry's commitment to walking alongside district local governments through the process, acknowledging that Uganda's diverse terrain means tailored, locally informed solutions matter more than blanket exposure visits.

He also called for LoCAL to be rolled out across the entire country and paid tribute to the programme's funders.

"I would like to appreciate the governments of Belgium, the European Union, Ireland, and Denmark for their support in piloting and rolling out LoCAL in Uganda," he said.

Locally led, nationally embedded

The scale of the investment reflects the urgency of the challenge. Uganda faces mounting climate shocks, droughts, floods and erratic rainfall that are devastating livelihoods, food security, and local economies, particularly at the district level.

For Maureen Akumu, a 35-year-old farmer in Nebbi district, climate change is not an abstract policy debate; it is a swollen river she once nearly drowned crossing.

Today, a bridge built under a locally driven climate adaptation initiative has transformed her life.

"From the time the bridge was built, crossing became easier. There are no more unattended farms; my crop yields have become better, and I also took advantage to sell produce across the river. My income has increased, and I can pay school fees," she says.

Her story captures precisely the kind of impact the Irish Embassy is working to scale across Uganda.

A similar workshop was held in Gulu on April 30, 2026, covering the districts in the Acholi sub-region.

"Adaptation is most effective when locally driven, evidence-based, and embedded in government systems," Lukwiya said.

The Irish Embassy's action plan, he explained, is deliberately shifting away from isolated project-based support toward integrating climate adaptation into planning, budgeting, and service delivery at the district level, embedding resilience into the machinery of government itself.

"LoCAL is not only financing adaptation, but also strengthening governance, accountability, and institutional capacity," he stressed.