Tree Talk Plus is the current chair of the Network for Civil Society Organisations in Environment and Natural Resources sector (also referred to as the ENR-CSO Network) is a loose coalition of civil society organizations engaged in policy lobbying and advocacy towards good governance and better service delivery in the environment and natural resources sector in Uganda. It is a membership network composed of mainly local NGOs and CBOs with a few International NGOs.
The ENR-CSO Network was established in 2010. The driving force behind its formation was the need for the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to get organized and formalize their participation in the annual Joint Sector Review process (JSR) under the Ministry of Water and Environment. The Joint Sector Review process includes an annual meeting convened by Government/Ministry of Water and Environment for the Sector players (Government, Development partners and other Stakeholders) to assess performance of Sector commitments and targets during the concluding financial year and set new commitments and targets for the coming financial year.
The ENR-CSO network started as “loose network” with a diverse membership of CSOs operating at national and local/district levels. Environmental Alert and IUCN – Uganda steered the formation of the network by virtue of their representation to the ENR Sector Working Group of the Ministry of Water and Environment. This was done through offering technical guidance and financial support for establishment of the network and planning its engagements. By January 2013, there were 65 Network members comprising of local, national and international CSO/NGOs.
Environment Alert (EA) hosts the ENR-CSO Secretariat at its office in Kampala and Tree Talk Plus is the current chair of the Network. The Network operations are supported by in-kind contributions from members, institutional support from EA and presently, by financial support from CARE International in Uganda.
Vision: The vision statement is “Uganda’s natural environment providing goods and services, on a sustainable basis, for national socio-economic development.”
Mission: To “Mobilize CSOs to effectively promote good governance, effective management and sustainable utilization of Uganda’s natural resources.” The ENR CSO Network advocates for conducive environment and natural resources policies for sustainable livelihoods, environment and natural resources management.