Forest Management in Uganda has been characterized by state control without involvement of the local communities over the years .  However institutions that have been tasked to manage forest resources on behalf of the state have not registered significant positive results due to lack of adequate financial and human resource to monitor the use of these forests.

This compelled government in the current forest policy to include Community Forestry Management as another viable option to manage Forestry resources.The Forestry Policy of 2001 advocates for participation of local communities in forest management on government, customary and private land . This policy advocates for a shift in perception of looking at communities as the main threat to forest conservation but allies that can promote efficient, effective and economic management of forest  resources.

EMPAFORM- a regional program in East Africa implemented by CARE, BUCODO  and ACODE in Uganda with an overall objective of “ensuring that Natural forests and woodlands in East Africa are sustainably managed and conserved with increased benefits to poor men, women and children in forest-dependent communities”, facilitated the formation of 6 area based (Forest) networks and Uganda Network for Collaborative Forest Associations (UNETCOFA) in Uganda.

UNETCOFA was formed in September, 2006 for and by Community Based Organizations (CBOs) participating in Collaborative Forest Management. The formation was a strategy to ‘join the dots’ of various CBOs implementing, negotiating or intending to start CFM process to enhance joint learning, information sharing and form a critical mass for lobbying and advocating for policies in relation to Collaborative Forest Management that address issues of especially the forest-adjacent and forest- dependent communities, and on the environmental, economic and social benefits of sustainable forest management.