Human activities fueling disasters in Bugisu – leaders

The steep slopes of Mt Elgon in Bugisu Sub-region used to be grassy, with various trees that lay unperturbed by man’s activities but now the slopes are almost bare.

Rampant deforestation, poor farming methods, and in some districts unplanned settlements due to population pressure, appear to be the main forces eroding the slopes across the sub-region.

The lower slopes of Mt Elgon, which were covered in thick tropical montane cloud forests with extensive stands of bamboo, are also no more. Tropical montane cloud forests are characterised by short trees, often twisted with multiple stems, with many stems per ground area, a large stem diameter to height ratio, and small, often thick leaves.

Landslides

As a result, weather patterns have shifted and extreme weather events such as landslides in the upper areas and floods in the low-lying areas have become more common in the sub-region.

Recently, multiple landslides hit Bulambuli District, leaving 36 people dead and about 100 still missing as of yesterday’s figures. About 1,000 people are at risk.

The landslides transformed what was once settlements and farmlands, especially in the villages of Masugu, Namathele, and Mamolo in Buluganya Sub-county, into empty fields flattened by debris.

Mr Robert Masongole, the Namisindwa District Forestry Officer, attributes the disasters such as landslides to the abnormal rains caused by climate change, as well as the land use change in Bugisu Sub-region.

“The locals have cut down trees and are growing crops such as cabbage, onions and tomatoes, which do not need shade and they don’t grow deep into the soil to hold it. That is why the soils are easily washed away, causing mudslides,” he said.

Mr Masongole said Local governments in Bugisu should come up with land use plans, which should guide farmers and sensitise them on using
their pieces of land to earn a living and at the same conserve the environment to avoid disasters.

“We should have a land use plan and train farmers in these risky areas to use their land to grow crops but also use part of the land for agroforestry to hold the soils,” he said.

Many districts in Bugisu Sub-region, especially Bududa, Bulambuli, and Namisindwa, experience landslides whenever they receive abnormal rains. Unpredictable rainy seasons For instance, sub-counties found in upper Bulambuli are prone to a range of natural disasters, notably landslides, while sub-counties in the lower part of the district grapple with floods, hailstorms, windstorms and thunderstorms.

In October, another landslide occurred in Namisuni Sub-county in the same district, displacing hundreds of locals in several villages and also destroying crops and livestock.

Mr James Wanasolo, a resident of Masugu Village in Buluganya Sub-county, said due to climate change, they have since failed to predict the onset of rainy seasons.

“We knew the rains start in February for the first season but that is no more. The seasons have changed. Like this year, it has rained throughout the year,” Mr Wanasolo told Daily Monitor on Monday.

Environmental experts propose that the districts should take farmers to areas such as Kigezi Sub-region to see and learn new farming methods like terracing that help to keep soils firm in mountainous areas.

In Bugisu, farmers, especially in Bulambuli, Sironko, Bududa, and Mbale, have lost several acres of agricultural land, crops, and animals due to changes in weather patterns.

Ms Janet Nagami, a resident of Sironko Town Council, who grows vegetables along the River Sironko banks, said the river used to be an important source of livelihood but it is no longer. Instead, it has become volatile.

“Even when we plant, we get poor harvests. During the rainy season, the crops are washed away and in the dry season, the crops are destroyed by the scorching sunshine,” she said.

River Sironko, which is one of the freshwater ecosystems in Mt Elgon, now struggles to flow due to siltation, pollution, and degradation as it makes its way into Lake Kyoga. Along the river banks, the locals, mostly youth, engage in sand mining as a business, an activity that further chokes the river. 

Mr Eric Sakwa, an environmentalist and a former Jinja Resident District Commissioner, said the disasters are due to the mismanagement of the environment, unplanned settlement, and unregulated agricultural practices.

“The main cause of landslides in these areas is mismanagement of environmental resource envelope such as degrading the available natural resource ecosystem caused by deforestation, unplanned settlement, and unplanned agricultural practices,”Mr Sakwa said. 

Proposal

Local leaders have proposed the creation of a ministry to handle Bugisu affairs. However, some opinion leaders, including Mr Sakwa, say such a creation may not solve the landslides question.

“So creating Bugisu affairs ministry will not stop landslides from occurring so long as we don't involve environmental solutions to solve environmental problems. Otherwise, we shall continue to experience environmental riots year after year. The area needs to regain its environmental rights and enhance environmental democracy free from environmental injustices,” Mr Sakwa said.

He instead suggests that the government should ban unplanned settlement and cultivation on steep slopes and buffer zones. Mr Sakwa adds that residents should plant more trees to enhance heavy forest cover, which he says will foster biodiversity conservation.

“Embrace environmental management, awareness and education to local people to understand the dynamics of climate change as a result of inflicting environmental injustices on the biodiversity ecosystem,” he said.

Mr Steven Masiga, researcher and coordinator of Makerere University, said disasters will not end soon unless the locals living in high-risk areas embrace planting of bamboo trees.

“The continuous rains that keep on pounding makes the soil unstable and it is swept away. This explains the incessant landslides in Bugisu and the solution is planting trees that can be able to impede unnecessary soil movement,” he said.

According to the Ministry of Water and Environment, Uganda’s wetland coverage has dropped from 17.5 percent in the early 1990s to 8.5 percent, while forest coverage has dropped from 24 percent to 12.4 percent due to human activities.

Mr Robert Watira, an elder and a resident of Bududa Town Council, said the government needs to support locals through the provision of tree seedlings to fight landslides the district experiences whenever it rains.

Way forward

Mr Isaac Katenya, the MP for Bulambuli County, says terracing is one of the farming practices that help cut the speed of water in the mountainous areas but it is not practiced by the people living in risky areas in the Elgon zone.

“One of the aspects leading to landslides is over cultivation of the land, accompanied with poor cultivation methods,” Mr Katenya, said, adding that locals are also carrying out animal grazing on the hills, something he said has weakened the soils. 

Previous disasters

•In 2012, landslides occurred in Namaga and Bunakasala villages in Bumwalukani Sub-county in Bududa District, leaving about 450 people reportedly dead and several properties, including houses, destroyed.

•In October 2018, about 42 people were reportedly killed and more than 500 people were displaced in Suume Village, Bukalasi Subcounty in Bududa District.

•In August 2017, a landslide hit Masaba Sub-county, Sironko District. It killed seven people and displaced hundreds.

• In 2019, a landslide occurred in Buwalasi Sub-county in Bududa District, leaving five people dead and more than 400 displaced.

•In the same year, multiple landslides occurred in Sironko and Bududa districts, killing eight people and displacing hundreds.