Speaking during a comprehensive situation assessment and preparation of Albert water management zone-AWMZ strategy and action plan in Hoima city today, Edward Martin Rwarinda, the acting Assistant commissioner in the ministry of water and Environment says local communities are not being sensitized, mobilized and engaged enough in the fight against environmental degradation yet the vice continues to persist despite the various interventions.
Gorreti Namugga, the Mawogola County Member of Parliament in Ssembabule District accused Anywar of sleeping on her job while the country loses forests and wetlands under the watch of her Ministry.
In 2017, a report by the Ministry of Water and Environment on disasters mapped Gulu City among the areas in Northern Uganda, which are potentially prone to floods. As a result, the former Gulu Municipal Council recommended the widening of the banks of Pece Stream and secured the funding from Fichtner, two years ago.
The RDC gave the authorization after district security and political authorities suspended the ongoing operation of evicting farmers from wetlands in the district.
Last week, authorities from the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and the Ministry of Water and Environment started evicting all farmers operating in wetlands in the districts of Kabale, Rubanda and Rukiga.
Yudaya Nakinga, the Kakumiro District Natural Resources Officer who led the operation, says that they received intelligence information indicating that several hectares of the wetlands had been encroached on for different activities.
Eng. Dr Seith Mugume noted that the rising and falling water levels are as a result of an imbalance created by several human-induced factors that affect water inflows and outflows from Lake Victoria.
Moses Abonga, the Laroo Division LC 3 Chairperson reveals that several parts of the wetlands have been cultivated, adding that farmers use contaminated water to irrigate vegetables, which is a threat to public health and safety.
Olivia Nabukenya, the Masindi district Environment officer says that more than Eight thousand trees have been planted along riverbanks in the district as part of the restoration drive.
Emmy Katera, the Buhweju Resident District Commissioner, says the top district leadership is working with the environment department and police to arrest adamant people, who have continued to deplete wetlands in disregard of several warnings.
Buhweju District Police Commander Ben Nuwamanya says that the three had encroached on a bigger part of the wetland and turned it into a grazing and farming area. The suspects are now held at Buhweju Police Station.
Ntungamo Municipality Town Clerk Christopher Ahimbisibwe told URN that the destruction of the artificial forest aims to send a signal to all those involved in the destruction of natural resources to cease adding that all land encroached on will soon be recovered.
The wetland, which borders the districts of Mbarara and Sheema, feeds into Kooga, another wetland and Rwizi River, the main source of water for thousands of people in Mbarara, Sheema and Isingiro districts.
The registration that started late November covers the districts of Mbarara, Bushenyi, Isingiro, Ntungamo, Kabale, Kisoro, Kanungu, and Rubanda. It comes at the backdrop of complaints on the failure to control developments on the banks of River Rwizi in Mbarara and other major wetlands.
The Ministry of Water and Environment is in the final stages of discussion with the Judiciary and other relevant bodies to have special courts established in order to handle environmental cases.
She says this has frustrated many of their efforts since they are also supposed to use police to do enforcement in places where people have failed to heed to their directives to vacate the wetlands they have illegally occupied
Collins Oloya, the Assistant Commissioner in charge of Environment at the ministry of Water and Environment says they couldn\'t continue due to lack of money.
