Govt earmarks Shs2.5b for wetland restoration
People harvest rice in Namatala Wetland in Budaka District. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- The wetlands, more so the Limoto wetland, has been a major link between Pallisa and Kibuku which serves water into River Mpologoma and stretches for about 35sq km.
Government has earmarked Shs2.5b towards the restoration of wetlands.
The two-year project is being funded by the Australian Development Agency and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The beneficiaries are the five districts of Budaka, Butaleja, Namutumba, Kibuku, and Kaliro, which are on the Mpologoma catchment area.
The project, implemented by UNDP through the Ministry of Water and Environment, is an integrated multi-sectoral initiative aimed at increasing the resilience of both ecosystems and communities living close to wetland areas.
Mr Collins Oloya, the director of wetlands and environment affairs in the Ministry of Environment, said the funds are meant to provide alternative livelihood to communities hat depend on these wetlands.
The projects include fish farming, aquaculture, irrigation schemes in collaboration with the district structures.
The Budaka County MP, Mr Arthur Waako Mboizi, at a meeting with councillors on Tuesday last week, said the project aims at restoring wetlands that are diminishing at a high rate as a result of human activities. “This will improve agricultural practices, alternative livelihood options in the wetland and associated catchment areas ,” Mr Mboizi said.
The project, which will partner with MAAIF, Nema, other CSOs and private sectors, is expected to run for three years and will directly target 66,000 households.
“For a number of occasions, the local communities have been resisting the project but whether they like it or not, this project has to be implemented. The district couldn’t lose such monies because of a few individuals trying to incite the community,” Mr Mboizi said.
He said local leaders have been given seven days to sensitise locals about the relevance of the project.
Mr Mboizi said the district council chaired by the district speaker, Ms Alice Kataike, have endorsed a motion regarding the enforcement of the restoration of wetlands.
The motion was presented by Mr David Mbayo, the secretary for production and marketing, natural resources and trade industry and seconded by Mr Lawrence Musakala, a councillor representing Tademeri Sub-county.
The motion stated that it is the mandate of the local government to manage and regulate access, use and ownership of forests and wetlands in the district.
Mr Mbayo said of the total land area of 410.1sqKm, wetlands in Budaka occupy 5.89 percent.
He said the project has earmarked a number of alternative livelihood options, increased productivity, small scale agro-processing, branding and marketing for increased household income and improved quality of life.
Background
The Ministry of Water and Environment, Nema and the police have in the past one year been pushing farmers to vacate the wetlands.
These catchment areas have been massively degraded as a result of cultivation of rice and other activities causing negative climate changes.
The wetlands, more so the Limoto wetland, has been a major link between Pallisa and Kibuku which serves water into River Mpologoma and stretches for about 35sq km.
