Minister rallies Ugandans on protecting environment

The Minister of State for Environment, Ms Beatrice Anywar

What you need to know:

  • The executive director of National Environment Management Authority (Nema), Mr Barirega Akankwasa, said the wetlands in Uganda are under intense pressure from unplanned urbanisation, poor agricultural practices and industrialisation, among others.

The Minister of State for Environment, Ms Beatrice Anywar, has warned Ugandans on the cost of inaction against continued encroachment on the environment, particularly wetlands, saying the floods in Kampala are majorly a result of wetland degradation.
Addressing the media on the eve of the World Wetlands Day, which is marked on February 2, Ms Anywar urged Ugandans to be part of the fight against encroachment on wetlands, which she said is becoming rampant, especially in the urban areas.
She further said the 2015 government report put wetland coverage at 13 percent, a decrease of 2.6 percent from 15.6 percent wetland coverage in 1994. She applauded the vigorous efforts by the government and partners, which she said have enabled a progressive trend in the restoration of wetlands.

“In 2015, only 8.9 percent of the 13 percent wetland coverage was intact. I am very happy that we are beginning to see a positive trend with the intact wetland coverage now at 9.3 percent,” Ms Anywar said.
She added: “Government has continued to put the wetland agenda at the forefront. Environment Protection Police Unit was created, erroneous titles in the wetlands have been cancelled and issuance of permits in wetlands was halted, among other interventions have been enforced to protect the wetlands.”
The global theme for this year is, “It’s time for wetland restoration.” The national celebrations will be held at Gweri Sub-county grounds in Soroti District under the theme, “Wetland restoration for people and nature.”

Ms Anywar said the celebrations will be used to raise awareness on the importance of wetlands for a common future. Among the benefits of the wetlands, the minister highlighted the increasing need to protect biological diversity, carbon storage and water replenishing.
“Wetlands are very key for floods and storm control. Look at the flooding in Kampala whenever we have rain, this is basically because all the wetlands which are the major water catchment areas were degraded,” she said.
The executive director of National Environment Management Authority (Nema), Mr Barirega Akankwasa, said the wetlands in Uganda are under intense pressure from unplanned urbanisation, poor agricultural practices and industrialisation, among others.

“The encroachment on wetlands is being exacerbated by high population growth rates but our aim is to restore the wetland cover to at least 15 percent by 2040. We have also started promoting alternative safe use of wetlands such as fishing and irrigation from wetlands but not on wetlands,” Mr Akankwasa.
He also decried the limited resources such as enforcement personnel, limited equipment especially mobility and monitoring tools as well as shortfalls in the operation budget, which he said hinders the operations of the authority.