I welcome you all to the Ministry of Water and Environment Website. I am pleased to note that the Ministry Website is an important vehicle for providing information with regard to the water and environment natural resource sectors.

The Ministry of Water and Environment is responsible for setting national policies and standards, managing and regulating water and environment resources and determining priorities for water development and management in Uganda.

It also monitors and evaluates sector development programs to keep track of their performance, efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery. This is executed through three directorates: Directorate of Water Resources Management (DWRM), Directorate of Water Development (DWD) and the Directorate of Environmental Affairs (DEA) which works closely with the Climate Change Department(CCD). The Ministry also works closely with four parastatals: National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), National Forest Authority (NFA) and Uganda National Meteorology Authority (UNMA)

The Ministry is mandated to develop public sanitary facilities and promote good practices of hygiene and sanitation in small towns and rural growth centers as stipulated in the Memorandum of Understanding that was signed by Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and Sports, and MWE. With respect to water for production, MWE is the lead agency for water for production and development off-farm.

The Ministry has made tremendous strides in provision of safe water and sanitation services and environment natural resource protection.  The national safe water coverage for rural and urban water supply continues to tremendously increase over time.

The country has experienced drastic changes in weather patterns characterized by long dry spells, low water levels and poor rainfall distribution resulting into increased crop failures, livestock mortality and famine which are a consequence of man's destructive activities on the environment. We need to change our mindset and begin to love our environment. Vision 2040 recognizes Forests among the key pillars of economic growth which is indeed true given the central role forests play in supporting productivity of other sectors such as agriculture, Tourism, Fisheries among others through maintaining the water cycle and suitable micro climate for investments in the sectors.

The Ministry of Water and Environment is committed to avoiding, minimizing, and mitigating adverse environmental and social impacts associated with its projects, as well as adopting a gender-sensitive and gender-equitable approach for all its projects. All proposed MWE projects will be subject to review and screening during preparation, and will be designed, implemented, monitored and reviewed accordingly. This requirement will be applied to MWE’s implementing/executing partners for the delivery of projects for which MWE has overall responsibility for management and results.

The Ministry is also committed to ensuring transparency and accessibility of information, in addition to facilitating the resolution of disputes, with respect to environmental and social risks and gender considerations.

Further more, the Ministry is committed to zero tolerance to fraud and corruption in the process of executing all its operations as guided by the existing legal national frameworks and institutions.

As we continue in our efforts to provide sound management and sustainable utilization of Uganda’s natural resources. The Ministry pledges to continue working to serve all Ugandans through various initiatives and priority programs that subscribe to Uganda’s development agenda to achieve the National Development Plan (NDP II), Uganda’s Vision 2040 and the United Nations Sector Development Goals (SDGs).The Ministry urges all Ugandans to join in enforcing laws and regulations to safe guard and ensure sustainable utilization of our water and environment natural resources.