How politicians are fuelling environmental degradation

Environmentalists say much work remains to be done to restore more than 9,000square kilometres of degraded wetlands, including the cancellation of land titles issued in wetlands. 

With laws and wet land policies in place, wetlands in Uganda have continued to face degradation for conversion of land for agriculture, industrialisation and settlement purposes. 

According to Uganda’s wetlands atlas, wetland cover has since declined by 30 percent between 1994 and 2008. 

A 2023 performance report by the ministry of water and environment indicates that only 8.9percent (21,526km2 ) of the total wetland coverage was intact while 4.1 percent (9,885km2) was under some form of degradation. 

If the situation is not halted, Uganda risks losing all its wetlands by 2040. Wetlands in Uganda cover a total surface area of 33,762.6 sq. km (13.9 percent), with a notable increase of 0.9percent from 13 percent in 2015 to 13.9 percent in 2022. 

Uganda wetlands atlas defines a wetland as an area of land that is permanently or seasonally saturated with water. Political influence Environmentalists have attributed the influence of politics, among other factors, as fuelling wetland degradation across the country. Mr Christopher Busiinge, the head of Natural Resources Department at Joint Efforts to Save the Environment, said that law, policies, plans and projects have been put in place aiming at wetland conservation and restoration, but due to limited stakeholder participation, political interference and corruption, conservation has been in vain.

He explained that when it comes to wetland protection, for politicians it is all about protecting votes than wetlands. He further elaborated that although technocrats know the right thing to do, when it’s time to keep away people from buffer zones of these wetlands and rivers, the politicians are favouring and protecting encroachers by disrupting eviction campaigns.

“There are many instances where politicians will say, let us give them some time, they do the mathematics of how many votes are in that area. That sometime is not just a month or two, they become years and these people are eating up the natural asset and by the time you realise it’s gone,” Mr Busiinge said. 

He was speaking during the first national dialogue on wetlands organised by Join for Water in partnership with the Ministry of Water and Environment with support from the government of Belgium in Kampala. 

The environmentalists decried lack of policy implementation due to unlimited funding from government and called for increased funding to the environment department at districts. The National Policy for the Conservation and Management of Wetlands, Environment Act of 1995, Environment Impact Assessment Regulations 1998 and the Wetland Regulations 2000, are among the laws providing the legal framework that is designed to ensure the protection and wise use of wetlands.

Mr Busiinge also noted that misuse of power is another issue eating up wetlands saying the untouchable in government use powers to degrade natural assets which motivates poor people to also go and do farming in the wetland.

“Where I come from, I have seen local governments saying no to the degradation of these wetlands by particular individuals or investors but after a week or two these people are back and working under tight security. There is very little limited budget to the natural resources sector from the central government and that’s why we cannot have the laws fully implemented,” he said. 

Ms Evelyne Busingye, the team leader on wetland inventory by Join for Water in Fort Portal City, cited political interference, issues of corruption, lack of coordination, communications, and awareness about the law as well as lack of implementation of laws as main causes of wetland degradation. She explained that people who are responsible for protecting wetlands end up approving permits and titles in wetlands due to impunity.

Mr Isaiah Ndungo, the country coordinator of Join for Water, said corruption, political interference and misuse of power are some of the factors hampering wetland protection. “From the work we did, we realised there is corruption and issues to do with governance. Kingmakers in the sense that they are bigger in courts than the people that will be enforcing the laws, so they are bigger than the enforcement in courts,” Mr Ndungo said. 

He added: “When a district environment officer wants to come and find out who is encroaching, who is dumping, they find that the people who are dumping in the wetlands or who are draining the wetlands are bigger than themselves and they cannot be in a position to do anything Mr Ndungo called for increased funding for the enforcement of regulation related to wetland management, environment and natural resources management.

“One of the things we realised is that there is no money at the districts and when there is no money, enforcement becomes very complicated and then everything is compromised,” he said.

Some areas have been affected by the flooding, change in the farming production pattern, water pollution, and prolonged droughts as effects of wetland degradation.

Ms Christine Nakimwero Kaaya, the Kiboga District Woman Member of Parliament, who is also the shadow minister for Water and Environment, said communities should check out candidates' and political parties' manifestos on what they are promising in line with management of wetlands and environment. 

“When you look at people's manifesto they even fear to commit that they will do anything about wetlands and environment. So you, the community, still have to ask the candidates to check on what they are promising in line with management of wetlands and environment in their respective manifestos, even manifestos of political parties,” Ms Kaaya said.

She added: “This one has to come out clearly, otherwise, if we don't police leaders from that level then we cannot demand anything from them after their leaders.”

Ms Aisha Sekindi, the State minister for Water represented by David Stephen Mugabi Director of Environment Affairs in the Ministry Water and Environment, said the government has been addressing the degradation of wetlands and regulating the processes of wetland conservation. She explained that these initiatives are crucial for preserving the ecosystems and maintaining biodiversity. 

“As government, we have mapped the wetlands and demarcated their boundaries, restored wetlands where they have been degraded,created awareness in the communities and evicted those who have settled in the wetlands,” Ms Sekindi said.

According to the Ministry of Water and Environment, wetland coverage increased from 13 percent in FY2021/2022 to 13.9 percent and since 2020, approximately 445 km2 of welands have been restored. On his part, Mr Mugabi said the government has gazetted 8,614 wetlands across the country.

“For these wetlands, we have their maps, their locations, with GPS coordinates in place. So, it is no longer an excuse to say we don't know where the boundaries are. The boundaries have been defined,” Mr Mugabi added.

Crisis
According to Uganda’s wetlands atlas, wetland cover has since declined by 30 percent between 1994 and 2008. A 2023 performance report by the Ministry of Water and Environment warns that if degradation is not halted, Uganda risks losing all its wetlands by 2040.