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How wetlands restoration rejuvenated the River Maziba catchment area 

Concrete pillar demarcating River Maziba's boundary. PHOTO/ADAM MAYANJA

What you need to know:

  • The Maziba catchment is found in the Kagera basin in the Victoria Water Management Zone. The catchment is important because it is a source of water for local communities for production and domestic use. It also drains into Lake Victoria, which is a transboundary water resource. However, it had been degraded by human activity, specifically cultivation and cattle grazing. However, through behaviour change training, needs assessment to identify nature-based solutions to the challenges and practical demonstration of good practices through pilot demonstration plots, Ikona, Rufuha, and Kabasheshe wetlands have been restored, in what is one of the more successful climate change mitigation projects in the country as Bamuturaki Musinguzi reports.

Farmers who previously engaged in agricultural practices that led to the degradation of the River Maziba catchment area in Kabale and Ntungamo districts are full of praise for the Enhancing Resilience of Communities to Climate Change through Catchment Based Integrated Management of Water and Related Resources in Uganda (EURECCCA) project that has restored the wetlands of the water body through providing them with alternative household incomes, sustainable water, and soil conservation measures.

Silver Begambagye, a dairy farmer and retired secondary school teacher, recalls that before implementing the project the government conducted seminars to sensitise communities on restoring the environment. The government erected pillars to demarcate the boundary between people’s farms and the banks of River Maziba.
 
“We had to find alternative sources of earning. We are now benefiting from this project due to the soft loans that we borrow at an interest rate of one percent from the Water and Environment Cooperative Societies (WECs). I borrowed Shs3 million to buy heifers and I plan to get another loan to expand my business,” he says. 
 
Begambagye who is a cattle farmer in Rwakashande I village, Katonkye Parish, Kyanamira sub-county in Kabale district, says he acquired his 12 acres of land in small portions over time, on credit. 

Silver Begambagye grazing his cows in Rwakashande village, Kabale District. PHOTO/ADAM MAYANJA 

“Under this project, farmers have adopted zero-grazing on small pieces of land, relying on pasture to feed their cattle. I get 100 liters of milk every day from my 24 cows and I sell a liter at Shs1,000 to the Kigezi Dairy Farmers Association,” Begambagye says.

He adds that in the beginning, the farmers tried to resist the EURECCCA project but after being educated and sensitised by the government, they are now working together. 

“We are seeing some improvements in the restoration of the Maziba catchment. Before the implementation of this project, some people were growing crops on the riverbanks, and when the river flooded, it would take away the fertile topsoil,” Begambagye says.

Peter Mwesigwa drying mushrooms. PHOTO/ADAM MAYANJA

Peter Mwesigwa is one of the youths who have benefited from the project’s mushroom-growing component. He grows mushrooms from sorghum husks, agricultural lime, and maize brand on his farm, Pearl Mushrooms Kabale, in Karujabura village, Mwendo Parish, Kitumba sub-county in Kabale district. The farm employs three permanent workers.
 
“I started this farm in 2022 with capital worth Shs90, 000. Today, the business is worth Shs15 million. I took loans from the cooperative society to construct this production house and store. The store can hold 300 bags of sorghum husks,” he says. 
 
Mwesigwa grows organic mushrooms, and every day, he harvests three to five kilograms, which he sells at Shs15,000 per kilo. He says his target is to earn Shs5 million every month.  

“I am a model farmer who is inspiring youths to take up mushroom growing. People come to the farm to learn from me. With the income from this farm, I can take care of my family. I have also educated myself to the university level. I plan to expand our facility to supply a wider market,” Mwesigwa adds.

Maziba mini hydro dam was partly affected by the degradation of River Maziba. PHOTO/ADAM MAYANJA

The EURECCCA Project
The Government of Uganda, through the Ministry of Water and Environment’s Directorate of Water Resources Management, received funding from the Adaptation Fund and Sahara and Sahel Observatory to implement the EURECCCA project in the catchment areas of Awoja in the Kyoga Basin, Aswa in the Aswa basin, and Maziba in the Kagera basin.
 
The overall goal of the project is to increase the resilience of communities to the risk of floods and landslides by promoting catchment-based integrated, equitable, and sustainable management of water and related resources. The duration of the project was four years (2017-2021).

Twelve degraded wetlands and nine degraded riverbanks in Aswa, Awoja and Maziba catchments were demarcated and restored. These interventions necessitated the local communities to vacate the wetlands and riverbanks where they were deriving their livelihoods.

Other activities included wetland restoration and demarcation; riverbank buffer zone protection; establishment and construction of soil and water conservation structures; tree planting through Public Private Partnerships; and the production and marketing of improved cooking stoves.

Vincent Narohooza, a resident of Kilembe Cell Site, Ruhega Parish, Kayonza sub-county in Ntungamo district, says before the project was implemented, the gullies at the site were caused by the river flooding. 

“We lost people and domestic animals during heavy floods. People died while attempting to cross from one side of a gully to another on this steep landscape. Today, the stones and wire mesh constructed under the project are controlling the floods, while the check dams are reducing the flow of water,” he says. 

Annette Nareeba, the project’s community and social development officer, says eleven gabion walls were constructed in the area and have now reduced soil erosion causing the gullies to heal. The community has also planted three woodlots to protect the environment. 
 
“Farmers had degraded Kabasheshe wetland by building water canals to divert the water to onion and maize gardens. We have erected concrete pillars to demarcate and show people not to temper with this wetland. They can cut the grass in the wetland to use in mulching in their plantations and fetch water for irrigation during dry seasons, though,” she says.

Nareeba adds that the project’s biggest challenge is the political influence from local politicians during the election season because politicians do not want their voters to be evicted from wetlands. 

Hudad Rukundo at his nursery beds. PHOTO/ADAM MAYANJA

Cooperative societies to the rescue
Hudad Kim Rukundo operates Fruitful Nature Uganda Limited, a nursery bed in Karujabura village, Kekubo Parish, Kitumba sub-county in Kabale district. Rukundo was hired, trained, and supported by the EURECCCA project under a Public Private Partnership arrangement. 

The company received around Shs490 million from the project to raise assorted tree seedlings, train communities in planting trees and fruit trees, and support their growth in Kabale, Rubanda, and Rukiga districts.
 
"The nursery bed, located on five acres of land, grows timber, apple, pine, avocado, bamboo, guava, and coffee seedlings. We employ eight permanent workers and 15 part-time workers. Before giving out the seedlings, we offer technical advice to the farmers,” he says.

Rukundo, who has been running the nursery bed for close to 15 years, says it has uplifted his income and status. Besides the nursery bed, he is also into cattle keeping, piggery, and poultry farming. People who used to travel far and wide in the search for good seedlings, now find themselves at his door. 
 
“By planting trees, farmers have stopped landslides and increased their income through selling firewood. The bamboo trees have done very well in the restoration of the Maziba catchment area because of their strong roots and the fact that they do not drain a lot of water,” he observes. 

To ensure the sustainability of the restored wetlands and riverbanks, the EURECCCA project introduced a revolving fund for funding environmentally friendly alternative income-generating activities. Fourteen WECs were established to receive and disburse the revolving funds.

Hudad Rukundo watering seedlings in his nursery bed. PHOTO/ADAM MAYANJA

Laban Zaribugire, the chairperson of the Upper Maziba Farmers Water and Environment Cooperative Society, says these cooperatives were started to support those who were affected by evictions from the wetlands in Upper Maziba.
 
“The project extended Shs200 million to our cooperative as a revolving fund. We have 376 clients and have so far dispersed loans totaling to Shs250 million to our members with different enterprises including dairy, poultry, and piggeries. The beneficiaries pay back the loans in 12 to 18 months,” he says.  

Edwin Bantu, the treasurer of the Kabasheshe Wetland Conservationist Water and Environment Cooperative Society in Nyamwiza 1 village, Kabasheshe Parish, Kayonza sub-county in Ntungamo district, told Sunday Monitor, that before the project, Kabasheshe Wetland had almost disappeared. 

“People were growing cabbages, sweet potatoes, and eucalyptus trees in the wetland. But after we were sensitised and provided with a revolving fund, we are all benefiting. Some farmers are using the banks of the wetland as onion nursery beds, while others only cut grass from the wetland to mulch their banana plantations,” he says.
 
According to Bantu, their 122-member cooperative received a revolving fund of Shs125 million, which they have disbursed to income-generating projects that include piggery, horticulture, apiary, and bananas. 

“I plan to plant five acres of onions this season. Last season, I borrowed Shs2.5 million from the cooperative and earned Shs8 million after harvesting the onions. Out of these proceeds, I bought a piece of land,” he says.

According to Nareeba, besides Upper Maziba Farmers WEC, the area has Kabasheshe WEC, and Rufuha WEC. A total of 861 individuals have borrowed money from the cooperative societies in the River Maziba catchment area.
 
“The WECs model has turned out to be a very good approach to channeling funds to groups of people to conserve the environment while deriving sustainable livelihoods. It has made a big difference in the lives of the communities and enhanced their resilience to the effects of climate change,” she observes.  
 
The WECs have provided communities with a sense of belonging and ownership. They believe, and know, that they can change their livelihoods without degrading the environment but rather through sustainable environmentally friendly income generating activities. As a result, this has reduced domestic violence since women are actively engaged in livelihood income generation activities.
 
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