Sub-county residents draft by-law to protect wetlands

Threatened. Part of Adolo wetland, which has been encroached on in Orum Sub-county, Otuke District. FILE PHOTO

What you need to know:

  • As temperatures throughout East Africa rise, precipitation is expected to increase, along with the frequency and intensity of droughts, floods and heat waves. Scientists predict that the rate of climate change will be more rapid than previously expected.
  • Whereas wetlands are a source of livelihood to many Ugandans, they are under a lot of pressure from industrial development, settlement, agriculture, sand and clay mining.

Residents of Orum Sub-county in Otuke District have formulated a by-law they believe will protect wetlands in the area that are facing extinction due to encroachment.
The by-law bans farming, bush burning and any form of investment in wetlands.
The by-law, which will be enforced by Local Council leaders, attracts harsh penalties. For instance, anybody found encroaching on the gazetted areas will be fined Shs50,000 or three months of community service, or both.

Mr Francis Opuno, the acting Burlobo Parish LCII chairman, says they are prepared to enforce the by-law because they have started experiencing changes in rainfall patterns because of climate change brought on by environmental degradation.
Ms Juliet Ebil from the Facilitation for Peace and Development, a local NGO involved in promoting sustainable development, welcomes the by-law but says it should not contravene the Constitution.
“The community need to take the by-law to the sub-county so that it can be reconciled with the existing laws on wetlands,” says Ms Ebil.
The RDC, Mr John Wafula, applauds the community for enacting the by-law and urges them to implement it.

Overwhelming support
“Wetlands are government entities and they can be used equitably by avoiding certain activities, which actually destroy them. And I strongly believe that if well implemented, such a by-law will have positive impact on the livelihoods of the people,” Mr Wafula says.
He says the district is experiencing a heat wave and drought as a result of climate change caused by human activities on the environment.
“At this time of the season, people in Otuke are busy drinking alcohol because wetlands have been destroyed, trees have been cut down and there is no activity apart from the hot sunshine,” Mr Wafula says.

He adds: “Our forefathers protected the wetlands for future generations, but it’s us now who are destroying these wetlands. When we destroy wetlands, we do away with aquatic life; fish, frogs, and we shall have no water even for our animals.”
“So to avoid wasting time, crying to God about rainfall, we must preserve the wetlands then we should stop cutting trees such that we can have more rainfall,” Mr Wafula adds.

However, Mr Dan Okello, the chairman of Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) in Lira District, doubts whether the by-law will have any impact since many people are not fully aware of the consequences of wetland encroachment.
“Most communities still operate for short-term gains without consideration of long-term targets or impacts on the environment, society or future generations,” says Mr Okello.
He adds that LCs lack capacity to enforce the by-law.
In Otuke, many wetlands have been encroached on by residents seeking land for agriculture. Several residents say changes in rainfall patterns will affect productivity.

“In the past, we used to receive rainfall around January before wetlands were degraded but now we are almost in the middle of February but unfortunately we are only experiencing heat wave and dusty winds,” says Mr Alex Nyanga, a resident of Te-Abala village in Orum Sub-county.
As temperatures throughout East Africa rise, precipitation is expected to increase, along with the frequency and intensity of droughts, floods and heat waves. Scientists predict that the rate of climate change will be more rapid than previously expected.

Whereas wetlands are a source of livelihood to many Ugandans, they are under a lot of pressure from industrial development, settlement, agriculture, sand and clay mining.
According to the Uganda Wetlands Atlas, wetland destruction costs Uganda nearly Shs2 billion annually, and contamination of water resources, which is partly caused by reduced buffering capacity of wetlands near open water bodies, costs the country nearly Shs38 billion annually.