As EU rules tighten, EAC–SADC leaders should push for state-led traceability and regional compliance mechanisms COMMENT | JANE NALUNGA | The global trade architecture is currently undergoing a shift to one increasingly defined by stringent sustainability mandates and digital traceability requirements. This transition is most visible in the emergence of the …
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Inside the EU’s climate rules and the hidden costs they impose on African economies Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | In mid-December 2025, under the chandeliers of a conference hall in Speke Resort Hotel-Munyonyo, in Kampala, a familiar tension surfaced in unfamiliar language. Delegates from across Eastern and Southern Africa …
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Access to European markets increasingly depends on surrendering precise farm data under EUDR rules Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | In the lush highlands of eastern and western Uganda, coffee farmers have long relied on fertile soils, predictable rains, and generations of agricultural knowledge to sustain their livelihoods. Today, however, …
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Good news for Ugandan lobbyists who fear loss of EU market COVER STORY | RONALD MUSOKE | On Sept. 23, the European Commission quietly sent a letter that set off ripples across global trade, agriculture, and environmental advocacy circles. In it, Environment Commissioner, Jessika Roswall, admitted that a proposed law …
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Deforestation-induced warming linked to 28,000 deaths a year SPECIAL FEATURE | Xilena Pinedo | Halting deforestation is not just an environmental issue but also a public health imperative, say researchers after a study found compelling evidence on the rise in heat deaths linked to tree loss. The study published in Nature …
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Washington, D.C. | THE INDEPENDENT | One-third (34%) of all global forest lost between 2001 and 2024 is likely permanent — meaning trees in those areas are unlikely to grow back naturally — according to a new analysis by World Resources Institute (WRI) and Google DeepMind. The report says the …
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New GLAD Lab data shows fire was the leading driver of tropical deforestation ANALYSIS | RONALD MUSOKE | Forest loss around the world surged to a record high in 2024, thanks mainly to a calamitous rise in fires, according to the latest data from the University of Maryland’s GLAD Lab that …
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Bulange, Mengo | LOUIS JADWONG | The Prime Minister (Katikkiro) of Buganda Kingdom Charles Peter Mayiga, has said government has no business getting directly involved in managing the coffee sector, and warned of ill-advised plans to phase out the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA). The Katikkiro told coffee stake holders, led …
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Ethiopia and Uganda already developing strategies to meet the EU’s new requirements ANALYSIS | AGENCIES | Many African smallholder coffee farmers, who primarily sell their harvest to European markets, now find their main source of income in jeopardy. In 2023, the European Union (EU) established mandatory rules for companies dealing in …
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Gulu, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | In a bid to put an end to deforestation and fraudulent sale of land in the Northern Region, the elders and the UPDF, headed by Brigadier General Bonny, have teamed up to launch an initiative to sensitize the community on the dangers of environmental destruction and …
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The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
