Locals feel brunt of degraded River Sironko

Locals have for several years now tampered with River Sironko by growing crops on the banks and diverting the water to their farm fields for irrigation.

The river, which is one of the freshwater ecosystems in Mt Elgon, now struggles to flow due to siltation, pollution and degradation as it makes its way into Lake Kyoga. The locals, mostly youth, engage in sand mining.

Ms Joan Wasagali, a resident of Sironko Town Council, who grows vegetables on the banks, says it used to be an important source of livelihood.

“Even when we plant, we get poor harvests. During the rainy season, the crops are washed away and in the dry season, the crops are destroyed by scorching sunshine,” she said, adding that the water levels and quality have also been affected.

Mr Innocent Woniala, another resident, said nowadays they fail to even predict when the rains will start using their indigenous knowledge of rainfall patterns.

“Previously, we knew the rains would start in February for the first season but that has changed. The first season now starts in April. So, the seasons have changed,” Mr Woniala said.

This year, farmers in both districts have lost several acres of agricultural land, crops, and animals due to floods, prolonged drought, or changes in rainfall patterns.

Mr John Wasukira, a resident of Sironko Town Council and a farmer, said during the dry season, the river almost runs dry due to massive degradation.

“Even a hen can walk through this river during the dry season. A few years from now, this river will dry up unless measures are taken to reverse the trend,” he said.

Mr Innocent Wandabwa, the district environment officer, said 70 percent of the river banks and wetlands in the district have been degraded through human activities such as the cultivation of rice, construction of houses, and sand mining.

According to the Ministry of Environment, Uganda’s wetland coverage has dropped from 17.5 percent in the early 1990s to 8.5 percent, while forest cover has dropped from 24 percent to 12.4 percent due to human activities.

Mr Wandabwa said the water levels in River Sironko have also decreased over time due to the effects of climate change.

“This degradation has devastated the potential of storing water and filtering pollutants. This has caused natural calamities such as floods and landslides in the district,” he said, adding that the most affected are the local people.

The government, through the Ministry of Water and Environment under the Ecosystem-based adaptation (EBA) project, which is funded by the Global Environment Fund (GEF) through the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is working to promote environmental conservation.

As part of resilience building, the EBA project officials organised a climate information dissemination event in Mbale city last week targeting the two districts in the area of weather forecasts and advisories for September, October, November and December.

The forecasts were generated by the Uganda National Meteorological Authority (UNMA) experts to inform the decisions of farmers, district technocrats and political leaders.

Mr Wandabwa said the district has embarked on boundary demarcation of River Sironko in a move to conserve the marshlands that are disappearing due to encroachment.

“This demarcation will involve retracing the river boundaries and also placing mark stones to try and help the river to rejuvenate,” he said.

The river, which originates from Mt Elgon, runs through districts of Sironko, Bulambuli, Bukedea, Kumi, Ngora, Soroti and pours its water into major water bodies including Lake Kyoga and River Awoja.

Mr Vincent Natega, the district health officer of Bulambuli, said degradation of fresh ecosystems, apart from causing crop failures, is also responsible for increasing cases of malaria.

He said health centres are registering an overwhelming number of admissions of especially children and mothers suffering from malaria, and typhoid, among others.

Experts say integration of climate information within malaria interventions can also strengthen eradication strategies of malaria in such attitudinal zones.

Mr Paul Watira, an environmentalist, said malaria transmission in Mt Elgon is rampant because the area is characterised by rainfall, high temperatures and humidity, which is the perfect weather for the malaria parasite.

“Malaria is becoming common because the people have cut down trees and the place has become warmer,” he said.

The Bulambuli District Forest Officer, Mr Franco Mangeti, said the forest covers in Bulambuli and other neighbouring districts have been destroyed.

Mass sensitisation
The Deputy Resident District Commissioner of Bulambuli, Mr Amir Kamba, said the local leaders should sensitise the locals on the dangers of degrading the river.

 The Bulambuli LC5 chairperson, Ms Annet Nandudu,  also challenged leaders  sensitising communities on environment conservation.
“I’m concerned that trees have been massively cut down and our wetlands have been degraded and almost non-existent,”Ms Nandutu said.

The Executive Director of Uganda National Meteorological Authority, Mr Bob Alex Ogwang, said: “As part of early warning measures against climate-related disasters, we will increase automated weather stations across the country to areas which lack them.”