By: Gerald Barekye
Worth Noting:
- Uganda’s wetland coverage has reduced from 17.5% in 1990s to 8.5% while the forest cover has reduced dropped from 24% to 12% such figures puts our country on dangers of climate change crisis that needs to quickly be resolved .
- Currently the environment is being destroyed across the country and the concerned authorities are not taking action .The government has continued to issues permits for investors to practice farming and establish factories in wetlands and clearance of forests ,should we say the government is not aware of the climate change crisis ?
- Many people have been arrested and no charges opened against them and they keep on running their projects on wetlands and clearing forest reserves.
In July 2021 ,the cabinet through minister of state for environment Ms. Beatrice Anyway banned all agricultural activities in wetlands across the country .Since then people have continued practicing farming in wetlands especially growing rice and animal rearing and this is putting the environment on stake leading to climate change crisis we are experiencing today .Many wetlands in Uganda have been encroached on for human activities and the response from the authorities looks to be lacking as evidenced by the continued destruction of wetlands to grow rice for example the Lwera wetland on masaka highway which have been reclaimed to grow rice ,the ongoing destruction of mpologoma wetland in sub regions of Busoga and Bukedi to grow sugarcane and rice ,the ongoing destruction of wetlands around river rwizi in western Uganda like nyakasura swamp which have been reclaimed for farming activities ,the ongoing destruction of forests for example Bugoma forest in Hoima district ,the ongoing destruction of lutoboka forest reserve in kalangala district to create space for beach among others ,all these are contributing to climate change crisis we are experiencing today .
Uganda’s wetland coverage has reduced from 17.5% in 1990s to 8.5% while the forest cover has reduced dropped from 24% to 12% such figures puts our country on dangers of climate change crisis that needs to quickly be resolved .Currently the environment is being destroyed across the country and the concerned authorities are not taking action .The government has continued to issues permits for investors to practice farming and establish factories in wetlands and clearance of forests ,should we say the government is not aware of the climate change crisis ? Many people have been arrested and no charges opened against them and they keep on running their projects on wetlands and clearing forest reserves.
It should also be noted that section 31,(4) of National forestry and planting act 2003 and section 36 of National forestry and planning regulations (NFTPR) 2016 prohibits any dealing in reserved trees species without permission from the line minister or relevant authority ,so should we say that these people encroaching on our forests are not approved by the Authority ? If they are approved then where are we heading if the whole environment is destroyed, wildlife extricated and water reservoirs dry out.
The recent international energy agency global roadmap to net zero by 2050shows that the worlds demand for oil will need to decline from more than 90m barrels a day to less than 25m by 250. This will result into 75% plunge in net revenue for oil producing economies which are dominated by public sectors that rely on energy exports for revenue .Such target can’t be reached with the increasing deforestation rate in Uganda for charcoal production that increases greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere .
The ministry of environment ,National Environmental Management Authority and many agencies have to come into action and change the way the country is behaving towards climate changes .The government has to invest more in clean energy for example solar that is sustainable to reduce on greenhouse gases in the atmosphere ,the cities and districts and many agencies have to monitor and arrest all people that engage in environmental destruction activities ,more funding should be allocated to strengthen enforcement on those practicing deforestation and farming in forests and wetlands .All stakeholders have to understand that the future is up to us, so I encourage everyone no matter the age ,position and size to join hands together for better planet earth for our current generation and coming future generation .
For god and my country
Gerald Barekye
Research Associate Afiego
Twongirwe Ireen