Youth Engagement in Environmental Governance in Uganda: Climate Action Initiatives and Outcomes

Youth Engagement in Environmental Governance in Uganda: Climate Action Initiatives and Outcomes | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Youth Engagement in Environmental Governance in Uganda: Climate Action Initiatives and Outcomes Gloria Nambassa, Eko Priyo Purnomo This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8541059/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study examines the role of youth engagement in environmental governance and climate action initiatives in Uganda. It explores how young people are becoming central actors in promoting sustainability through digital activism, community mobilization, environmental education, and green entrepreneurship. The research is informed by the Collaborative Environmental Governance Theory, which highlights the involvement of multiple stakeholders government, civil society, youth organizations, and local communities in co-managing environmental resources and shaping policy outcomes. A qualitative research design was used through document analysis of policy reports and academic literature. This approach enabled a critical assessment of youth participation in decision-making spaces and the practical contributions they make to environmental governance.The study identifies several opportunities and challenges influencing youth involvement. These include limited policy integration, inadequate funding, institutional weaknesses, and socio-political constraints. Despite these barriers, Ugandan youth continue to demonstrate innovation and resilience, leveraging digital platforms and community engagement to advocate for climate justice and sustainable development.The findings emphasize the need for gender inclusion, capacity building, and knowledge sharing as key enablers of meaningful participation. The study concludes that reforming climate policies to explicitly include youth voices, strengthening local government capacities, and expanding environmental education and digital literacy are essential for achieving inclusive and effective environmental governance in Uganda. Youth engagement Environmental governance Climate action Sustainable development Uganda Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8541059","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":581916257,"identity":"a92d3834-c861-492b-8882-cf97d5cefdb0","order_by":0,"name":"Gloria Nambassa","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Muhammadiyah University of Yogyakarta","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Gloria","middleName":"","lastName":"Nambassa","suffix":""},{"id":581916258,"identity":"8b06ec14-b9d7-424d-bcf9-4300ab224417","order_by":1,"name":"Eko Priyo Purnomo","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAo0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACHgbGBzD2AR4itTAbkKyFTQKJQwTg5zl8rJo35zADf/sBxgNviNEi2duWdpt322EGiTMJDAfnEKPF4DyPGVgLww0GhsNEOcweqKUYpEWeaC0GvD1mzCAtBkRrkThzLFly7rZ0HsMziQ3E+YW/J/ngh7fbrOXkjh8+/IGoEIOCZqCTGBtI0MDAUEeS6lEwCkbBKBhhAADjHTBL9Hp1ywAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Muhammadiyah University of Yogyakarta","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Eko","middleName":"Priyo","lastName":"Purnomo","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-07 11:53:27","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8541059/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8541059/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":104373665,"identity":"cba99e26-9727-47b1-8ee1-5b5ad2f30f40","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-11 05:56:21","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1182461,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"discoverenvntmanuscriptwithfinalcorrections.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8541059/v1_covered_c709a90c-7fd0-4555-86d7-179d108c635c.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eYouth Engagement in Environmental Governance in Uganda: Climate Action Initiatives and Outcomes\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Youth engagement, Environmental governance, Climate action, Sustainable development, Uganda","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8541059/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8541059/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"This study examines the role of youth engagement in environmental governance and climate action initiatives in Uganda. 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