The Welsh Government has explained why it will not continue funding a tree-planting scheme in Uganda from March next year.
The government said it is not “a judgement on the quality of the work”, but that a new international strategy for Wales will ensure future investment demonstrates impact and value for money and delivers clear benefits for Wales.
The scheme, which has planted millions of trees and built important links between Wales and Uganda, has recently attracted criticism from right-wing politicians.
The Welsh Government has given more than £4 million to climate change charity, Size of Wales, since 2015 to work with Indigenous communities to plant trees in the African nation, particularly around Mbale in the Mount Elgon region of eastern Uganda.
Figures released by the government show that the total funding provided to the programme since July 2015 stands at £4,070,864.
A document published in August 2025 by the previous government stated that Wales was “helping some of the very poorest people in the world adapt to climate change and improve their livelihoods” while protecting local people in the Mount Elgon region from deadly landslides.
The work of Size of Wales and the tree-planting programme has, however, come under sustained criticism from Reform UK and Welsh Conservative politicians in the Senedd, who have questioned the justification for spending Welsh taxpayers’ money on an environmental project in Africa when public services at home face considerable financial pressures.
The Size of Wales accounts show that in the financial year ending March 2025, the charity received £754,500 in government grant income, against total gross income of approximately £1.19 million. The figures underline the importance of public grants to the organisation’s activities.
The main Welsh Government budget for next year is being finalised ahead of publication on November 17.
A spokesman said: “As we develop a new International Strategy for Wales, we are working to ensure that future investment demonstrates impact and value for money and delivers clear benefits for Wales as well as our international partners.
“We do not intend to renew grant funding for the Size of Wales Mbale tree-planting programme beyond its current end date of March 31, 2027. That is not a judgement on the quality of the work. The programme has planted millions of trees and built important links between Wales and Uganda, and we look forward to continuing our dialogue with Size of Wales.
“Recognising the success of a programme is not the same as committing to fund the same delivery model indefinitely. Government has to make difficult choices about where limited resources can have the greatest impact and how our international activity should evolve. We will never retreat from Wales being an outward-looking and globally responsible nation,” the government spokesperson said.
In his response to the decision, the chairman of Size of Wales, Tim Birch, said the withdrawal of funding was a setback at a time when international cooperation was increasingly important in tackling climate change.
“At a time of deepening climate crisis, we need to strengthen, not retreat from, our commitment to global responsibility.
“As we prepare for COP31, Wales must continue to show global leadership.
“Taking action to protect tropical forests is in Wales’ own national interests, and working with international partners to restore ecosystems and build climate resilience is more important than ever.
“We urge the Welsh Government to reconsider this decision and continue supporting the long-term partnerships that are so vital to our shared future.”
The Mbale Trees Programme operates in an area where deforestation, agricultural expansion and the demand for charcoal and firewood have contributed to the loss of tree cover.
The Mount Elgon region, characterised by its hilly landscape, has experienced environmental challenges, including soil erosion, flooding and landslides. Heavy rainfall on increasingly exposed and unstable slopes has created risks for communities, with landslides destroying homes, schools and farmland and, in some cases, claiming lives.
According to information published by Size of Wales, Uganda lost approximately 918,000 hectares of tree cover between 2001 and 2020, representing a 12 per cent decline. The charity says the programme is designed not only to increase tree cover but also to help communities develop sustainable sources of income.
