Chapter One

The future is not a gift: it is an achievement. Every generation helps make its own future. This is the essential challenge of the present.

Robert F. Kennedy

The future is not a gift that the present generation or government can bequest to the following generations. International legal instruments often refer to the "rights of future generations." It is a fundamental right of each Ugandan generation to benefit from and enjoy the natural forests and cultural patrimony inherited from previous generations in such a manner that it can be passed on to future generations in no worse condition than it was received.

The 1972 Stockholm Declaration, which first formulated this principle, states, "Man ... bears a solemn responsibility to protect and improve the environment for present and future generations." President Museveni's government is obligated by international conventions to be custodian of today's environment and meet the developmental and environmental needs of present and future generations; avoid destroying Uganda's natural forests for short-term gain; and preserve for subsequent generations the use of Mabira forest.

In addressing the Mabira giveaway, it important to note the lack of any binding global treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of forests. Proposals for a convention that would regulate sustainable use of all types of forests were made during the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) but were opposed by some developing countries on the grounds that this would infringe on their sovereign rights to exploit such resour