Settlement Transformative Project, Draft of April 2015

Since 1959, Uganda has been hosting refugees in village-style settlements where refugees are allocated government-owned gazetted land and are free to support themselves. At present, Uganda hosts more refugees than ever before, but the available land for settlement has remained the same and declined in quality. This has placed environmental pressure on limited and fragmented land, and eroded productivity. There are also missed opportunities for refugees to acquire skills and resources needed for sustainable livelihoods while in Uganda, and when they return. For these reasons the Government has determined to make transformative investments in refugee settlements in order to increase their productivity and to diversify their economic opportunities.