3,000 residents defy NFA directive to vacate forest

JINJA. More than 3,000 residents living in Butagaya Forest Reserve in Jinja District have defied a directive by the National Forestry Authority (NFA) to vacate, arguing that they have not been given alternative areas of settlement.

Last week, the National Forestry Authority (NFA) issued a 30-day notice to the residents to vacate or be forced out. The notice, issued by the NFA range manager for Kyoga region, Ms Rannie Naguti, indicates that the 617-acre forest reserve is facing extinction over farming activities that has led to the indiscriminate cutting of trees.

However, in several meetings held at the weekend, affected residents said they will not leave as the forest reserve is their only source of income.
In one of the meetings held at Lumuli Primary School and chaired by Mr Isabirye Kasimu, the residents said they derive their livelihood from farming in the forest reserve and have nowhere to go.

The affected villages include Bubugo, Itanda, Buwala, Lumuli, Kalugo and Nakakulwe in Butagaya Sub-county.
They also resolved to petition the NFA executive director over the matter. Ms Phoebe Nabirye, a resident of Lumuli village, said the forest has been a source of food and school fees for her children.
Mr Vincent Isabirye, another resident, said he has spent 17 years in the forest and has nowhere to go, adding that he has never had any conflict with NFA.

Other residents said NFA did not consult them before taking the decision and asked to be given at least one year to allow them relocate. They also asked NFA to issue them with permits, allowing them to plant trees as they farm in the forest reserve.
The former district vice chairman, Mr Moses Batwala, said the forest reserve has been the residents’ only source of income.

“Since it is government’s policy to fight poverty, NFA should not evict farmers from the forest which has been their source of income lest they remain poor,” said Mr Batwala.
He said government should give the residents ample time to relocate before issuing eviction threats.

However, Ms Naguti said the residents’ plea for more time might not be considered and that they should comply with the directive.
She advised them to collaborate with NFA under the collaborative forest management approach.
“What we are doing now is to continue educating them about the approach,” Ms Naguti said in a telephone interview.

The forest reserve, which is on the shores of River Nile, sits on 617 hectares. Last month, armed security men reportedly raided the forest and cut down crops worth millions of shillings, causing insecurity in the area.

Campaign
In 2014, NFA rolled out a campaign of evicting people illegally occupying government forest reserves around the country to allow the forests regenerate naturally and save the country from future negative effects of climate change.
The campaign followed President Museveni’s directive to evict people threatening the existence of the forests by cutting down trees. Uganda has about 506 central forest reserves that have been encroached upon.

NFA says high court injunctions restraining eviction of people who have settled in central forest reserves have accelerated encroachment and stalled their activities.
“Although the court injunction state the status quo remains, the encroachers use them to massively encroach on the NFA land,” says NFA spokesperson Julie Mubi.

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