Location
Kampala
Uganda
Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE) is an independent public policy research and advocacy think tank based in Uganda working in East and Southern Africa. ACODE was first registered in 1999 as a Non-governmental organization (NGO). In 2004, the organization was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee and without having a share capital. ACODE is one of the most dynamic and robust regional leaders in cutting-edge public policy research and analysis in a range of areas including governance, trade, environment, and science and technology. ACODE has, for the last four consecutive years, been ranked in the Global Go To Think Tank Index as one of the best think tanks in Uganda and one of the top think tanks in the world. Think Tanks in Africa continue to play a major role in policy development and implementation. The Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE) has been ranked 23 out of 92 Top Think Tanks in Sub-Saharan Africa and 29 out of 90 globally with Best Advocacy Campaign in the 2015 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report (TTI), led by the University of Pennsylvania through its Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP).
ACODE is non-partisan and independent and therefore does not align with any political party or political organisation. However, given the direct relationship between development policy and politics, we believe that our work is political and it must stand for certain political causes of a bi-partisan nature. Such causes are legitimate issues of research interest so long as they are defined on the basis of constitutionalism, the rule of law as well as national and regional interests as expressed in the relevant treaties, strategy documents and declarations. ACODE's work is based on three broad programmes areas: Environmental Democracy, Peace and Democracy, and Innovation and Biotechnology Policy. Our core business is to undertake advocacy-driven public policy research and analysis on contemporary and emerging public policy and governance issues that have a significant impact on national development.
Members:
Resources
Displaying 6 - 10 of 52Re-establishing an Asset Base and Protecting Access to Productive Resources in Post-Conflict areas of Northern Uganda
Northern Uganda is currently recovering from a 20-year long civil war that left the area in ruins. One of the groups, the Lord’s Resistance Army, orchestrated brutal mass murders and abductions forcing nearly two million people to live internally displaced people’s (IDP) camps for over 10 years. The war particularly affected the people of Acholi and Lango sub-regions which had previously suffered sporadic attacks by armed Karamajong cattle rustlers from north eastern Uganda.
Catching up with the fast pace of land access change in Uganda
The ways in which people obtain land in Uganda are changing fast. Land that used to be secured through inheritance, gifts or proof of long-term occupancy is now more commonly changing hands in the market. Those with wealth and powerful connections are frequently able to override local rules and gain access to land at the expense of poorer individuals. Government-backed agribusiness investors receive large areas of land with benefits for some local farmers who are able to participate in the schemes, while other smallholders see their land access and livelihoods degraded.
Gendered impact of commercial pressures on land
This gender study forms part of the International Land Coalition’s ‘Commercial Pressures on Land Initiative’ Global Study. As stated by the International Land Coalition (ILC), the goal of this initiative is to support the efforts of ILC members and other stakeholders to influence global, regional and national processes on land to enable secure and equitable access to land for poor women and men in the face of increasing commercial demand for land (ILC 2010a, emphasis added).
Socio-Economic Effects of Chinese Agricultural Investments on the Environment and Local Livelihoods in Uganda
The nature and significance of China's engagements with African agriculture continues to be hotly debated in the media, academia and policy circles around the world. Although China has been engaged in Uganda’s agriculture for more than 40 years, the recent jostle for agricultural land by private Chinese investors is dystifying and justifies the need to conduct a scientific study to provide clear evidence before the issue gets bundled into the messy anecdotal media inquiry.
FOOD SECURITY AND LAND GOVERNANCE FACTSHEET
Food security in Uganda relies mainly on access to land and security of tenure. Land governance is marked by the contradiction between relatively progressive legislation and only partial implementation. Institutions that have to deal with land administration and land disputes, such as customary authority systems, local government, and special courts for land justice, have weakened in the last years. Women’s position with respect to land and inheritance also remains weak, both legally and in practice, undermining their livelihoods and status in society.