The Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development (MLHUD), in partnership with the Local Governments of the Rwenzori Region, Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) Uganda, civil society land actors, and other non-state stakeholders, will organize the 10th National Land Awareness Week (LAW) 2026 in the Rwenzori Region under the theme: “Promoting Land Rights and Sustainable Land Use for Inclusive and Sustainable Development.”
LAW 2026 will convene a broad range of key government institutions and stakeholders involved in land governance, natural resource management, environmental protection, and justice administration. These will include, among others, the Ministry of Water and Environment (MoWE), Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development (MEMD), Uganda Land Commission (ULC), Uganda National Land Information System (UgNLIS), the Courts of Judicature, National Forestry Authority (NFA), Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), and the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA). The event will also actively engage the cultural institutions of Obusinga Bwa Rwenzururu, Obudingiya Bwa Bamba, and Tooro Kingdom, religious institutions, civil society organizations, and selected private sector actors operating within the region.
The overarching goal of LAW 2026 is to strengthen the capacity of farming communities – including women, men, youth, Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), and other vulnerable groups – and their organizations, Local Governments, formal and customary land management and land administration structures, civil society organizations, and other state and non-state land actors to effectively participate in land, housing, urban development, and environmental governance processes. Emphasis will be placed on promoting sustainable land management and environmental conservation as critical pillars for climate justice and resilient development at both local and national levels.
This objective will be pursued through enhanced dissemination of information on existing policy, legal, and regulatory frameworks governing land and environmental management; public awareness and consciousness-building initiatives; and multi-stakeholder dialogues aimed at addressing region-specific and emerging land governance challenges.
In addition, LAW 2026 will provide a strategic platform for documenting emerging land and environmental governance issues to inform ongoing and future reviews of key policy and legal frameworks, including the National Land Policy (2013), the Land Act Cap. 227, the Land Acquisition Act (1965), the Physical Planning Act (2010), and related legislation. Community perspectives and recommendations generated during the engagements will be documented, consolidated, and presented to Government through the “LAW 2026 Memorandum and Policy Asks” for consideration and appropriate action.
The implementation of LAW 2026 will involve a series of participatory and innovative activities, including community dialogues, mobile legal aid clinics, radio and television talk shows, music, dance and drama performances, poetry exhibitions, regional joint council meetings, orientation sessions for District Land Boards (DLBs), social media campaigns, tree-planting initiatives, and other public engagement activities designed to promote inclusive participation and practical solutions to land governance challenges in Uganda.
