Residents cry out as Chinese firms encroach on wetlands

A group of Chinese investors in Buwunga Sub-county, Masaka District, have defied directives from local authorities to halt excavation activities in Nakiyaga wetland despite cries from residents.
It is estimated that the investors have so far destroyed at least 10 hectares of the wetland.
“We have been told that they are looking for clay which they use to make porcelain and ceramic tiles. We would not have any problem with them if they were not destroying our wetlands,” Mr Samuel Ssegujja, a resident, said yesterday.

Some Chinese investors found at one of the sites last week declined to speak to journalists and instead ordered the driver of the excavator to switch off the engine and leave the wetland.
“We do not know what to do next, the excavators have destroyed our crops,” Ms Sarah Namakula, another resident, said.

Concerns
The LC3 chairperson, Mr Francis Kimuli, said a landlord in the area leased part of land to the investors but they did not secure a permit from National Environment Management Authority (Nema).
“Those Chinese, through their agents, have approached me several times seeking permission to start excavating clay from the land which was leased to them, but I advised them to first get clearance from the district and Nema. I am sure they have not been cleared,” Mr Kimuli said.
The district chairperson, Mr Jude Mbabaali, said the Chinese defied his directive to halt excavation.
“No one is supposed to excavate clay in that area. That wetland is part of the water catchment area for Lake Victoria. We advised the Chinese to go to Nema first, but they instead took excavators to the wetland. We are going to stop them,” Mr Mbabaali said.
However, one of the agents of the Chinese investors only identified as Esia, said they secured a permit from Nema and accused local leaders of frustrating their efforts to get raw materials for their company, which he declined to name.
“We fulfilled all the necessary requirements and whatever we are doing is in line with Nema guidelines, no one can stop us,” he said.
Nakiyaga wetland forms part of Lake Nabugabo wetland system that comprises satellite lakes of Lake Victoria.
The system is a protected Ramsar site, listed as one of the wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
More than 180 bird species, among which are globally threatened species, have been recorded in the Lake Nabugabo wetland system.

What act says

Section 36 of the National Environment Act provides for the protection of wetlands and prohibits reclamation, erection of illegal structures and empowers authorities to demolish any structure that is fixed in, on, under or above any wetland. The Act also empowers districts to manage wetlands within their jurisdictions and ensure that that their boundaries are clearly demarcated so that even as water levels and wetland vegetation recedes, the communities are clear on where the boundaries lie.

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