Ms Martha Kabazaarwe. Photo/Courtesy
In Uganda, wetlands cover 30,105 km2 of the total land area of 241,500km2 and a coverage of 13 percent of the total land area.
Restoration efforts for Uganda’s wetlands has been on since 1986 when President Museveni came to power.
Since 1986, several guidelines and laws have been put in place for protecting the environment.
In 1988, Uganda ratified the Ramsar Convention of 1971, in 1989, government established the National Wetland Programme under the Ministry of Environment Protection and the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda was promulgated in 1995.
Other legislations that have been enacted include the Local Governments Act 1997, the Land Act 1998, the Water Statute 1995 and The National Environmental (Wetlands, River Banks and Lake Shores Management) 2000, among others.
Nema was established to play a key role for the management of the environment by coordinating, monitoring, regulating, and supervising all activities.
Today, it has currently been backed by government to evict encroachers on wetlands leading to the ongoing forceful demolition of homes, evictions, arrests, loss of property and lives.
The President has in his speeches insisted on preserving wetlands. A lot more needs to be done towards conserving wetlands.
The government should, however, walk the talk and concentrate on prevention than cure by investing more on the solutions before encroachment.
Why wait for the evictions, which come with loss of property, displaced and angry citizens? With the level of evictions, the country should be ready to face increased violence, riots, mental health issues, high crime rates, especially theft, murder, among others, from the displaced encroachers.
There is also a need for finance and support sensitisation programmes on wetland conservation. Some people are illiterate and they totally don’t know the importance of some natural resources. Whereas, the encroachers are looking for survival, they need awareness on the dangers. A few stakeholders perceive wetlands as places that deserve total protection while others look at them as a source of materials for their livelihoods.
Electronic media should be put to use, where the dangers of wetland encroachment are emphasised and also emphasise on the punishment on the encroachers.
Poverty is directly impacting the country’s effort to conserve wetlands as individuals encroach on the environment to make ends meet. Government projects like Parish Development Model and Operation Wealth Creation programmes that aim at alleviating poverty should be extended to the remotest villages for the locals to be able to actively participate and get means of survival.
As citizens, we are responsible for thinking about our impact on the environment and do whatever it takes to minimise the damage done to our planet. We have a vital role to play in wetland conservation.
By adopting sustainable practices and making conscious choices, we can contribute significantly to preserving the environment
Wetlands should also be managed at community level.
Local governments have a role to play in this regard, both as frontline regulators and as service providers.
The government should also increase the number of environment officers to support leaders at the local level. The protection of the environment in every district in Uganda is in the hands of the district environment officer.
Also, encroachers who are untouchable, especially government officials who use their powers to participate in wetland encroachment, should be prosecuted. Nobody is above the law.
Lastly, environmental laws have increased, but due to the lack of implementation and enforcement, they fall far short.
The government should ensure implementation of the environment laws.
Ms Martha Kabazaarwe is a lawyer. [email protected]
