Uganda’s delegation led by Hon. Sam Cheptoris, Uganda’s Minister for Water and Environment (3rd right) in a photo with Hon. Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, Costa Rica’s Minister of Environment and Energy. Also in the photo is Prof. Otim-Nape, the AfrII Chairman (Right), Dr. Peter Alele, the CI/Vital Signs Africa Field Director (2nd right) and other key officials from Uganda.

The just concluded six-day High-level South-South Policy exchange (March 28-April 7, 2019) that was organized by Conservation International attracted 8 delegates from Uganda to learn directly from the Costa Rican experience in implementing a variety of sustainable development policies and discuss which approaches can be applied in the Uganda context.
Among the delegation was the AfrII Chairman Prof. G.W. Otim-Nape; Hon. Sam Cheptoris Uganda’s Minister for Water and Environment (MoWE); Mr. Alfred Okidi-the Permanent Secretary MoWE; Mr. Pius Wakabi Kasajja, the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF); Dr. Tom Okello Obong, the Executive Director of the National Forestry Authority (NFA) and Mr. Mike Butseya Maliro the Regional Manager for Western Region at the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA).
The delegation met with Costa Rica’s Minister for Environment and Energy, Mr. Carlos Manuel Rodriguez and other key government officials on the country’s approaches to ecotourism, financing conservation efforts and managing forests and farms in the same landscape.
From the discussions, the delegation was impressed by how Costa Rica uses ecotourism as a driver to integrate sustainable practices that have enabled a positive environment for her communities and tourists; and realized the need by Uganda to borrow a leaf from Costa Rica and adopt strong policy frameworks and implementation for effective environmental conservation including community forest management and restoration of degraded lands, and Institutional, legal and financial reforms relevant to conservation, including approaches to eco system valuation.

The delegation in pictures after a nature walk in the tropical forest and national park of Costa Rica.