NEMA Starts Five-Year Tree Planting Campaign in Bugisu

The National Environmental Management Authority-NEMA has put in place a 5-year plan for tree planting in the Bugisu Sub-region. 

The tree planting project will help control the soil erosion and landslides, that have become a major threat to the people in the Bugisu region. The project comes at a time when the Bugisu sub-region is experiencing landslides caused by heavy rains, Last month more than 30 people were killed by landslides in Bulambuli District. 

While speaking to journalists, the NEMA Executive Director Barirega Akankwasah says that the five-year project has started and will run in all districts in the Elgon region that are prone to disasters. 

According to Akankwash, NEMA is also breeding different local tree species at Busiu town council in Mbale district. He says that an office has been set up where people will access tree seedlings for planting.

Akankwasah tasked leaders in the Bugisu region to champion the tree-planting campaign. 

William Lubuulwa the Communication Officer at NEMA said that Bugisu is a mountainous area and there is a need for tree planting trees to prevent mudslides. He attributes the increased frequency of these disasters to climate change effects.

Human activities including deforestation and intensive cultivation in the mountain slopes of Elgon remain key factors in increasing the occurrence and severity of disasters.