Earth Hour 2013 will be held in the country as elsewhere across the world on Saturday night in a collective display of commitment to a better future for the planet.

Marking the event, the government urged all to stop using electricity for an hour from 8:30pm Saturday showing the country’s support for climate change action through SMS.

The whole country is likely to be dimmed in darkness for one hour switching off non-essential lights and electric devices to save energy also.

Earth Hour, the worldwide event is being organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

In 2013, the world`s first Earth Hour Forest began in Uganda, as a first step to fight the 6000 hectares of deforestation that occur in the country every month.

The WWF-Uganda team identified close to 2700 hectares of degraded land, and used the ‘I Will If You Will’ concept to challenge businesses, government officials and individuals to fill it with at least 500,000 trees during the year.

Standard Chartered Bank-Uganda pledged to help fill the forest with more than 250,000 trees.

Besides, hundreds of millions of people, businesses and governments around the world unite each year to support the largest environmental event in history–Earth Hour.

More than 5,200 cities and towns in 135 countries worldwide switched off their lights for Earth Hour, sending a powerful message for action on climate change.

It also ushered in a new era with members going Beyond the Hour to commit to lasting action for the planet. Without a doubt, it’s shown how great things can be achieved when people come together for a common cause.