Environmentalists say much remains to be done to restore more than 9,000 square kilometers of degraded wetlands, including canceling land titles issued in the wetlands.

With wetland laws and policies in place, wetlands in Uganda have continued to be degraded due to land conversion for agricultural, industrial and settlement purposes.

According to the Uganda Wetlands Atlas, wetland cover has since declined by 30 percent between 1994 and 2008.

A 2023 performance report from the Ministry of Water and Environment indicates that only 8.9 percent (21,526 km2) of the total wetland cover was intact while 4.1 percent (9,885 km2) were subject to a form of degradation.

If the situation is not stopped, Uganda risks losing all its wetlands by 2040. Wetlands in Uganda cover a total area of ​​33,762.6 km² (13.9 percent), with an increase notable by 0.9 percent, from 13 percent in 2015 to 13.9 percent in 2015. 2022.

The Uganda Wetland Atlas defines a wetland as an area of ​​land permanently or seasonally saturated with water. Political influence Environmentalists attribute the influence of politics to the degradation of wetlands across the country, among other factors. Mr. Christopher Busiinge, Head of Natural Resources Department of Joint Efforts to Save the Environment, said laws, policies, plans and projects have been put in place with the aim of conserving and restoring wetlands, but due to limited stakeholder participation, political interference and corruption. , conservation was in vain.

He explained that when it comes to wetland protection, for politicians it is all about protecting votes rather than wetlands. He further explained that even though technocrats know what to do, when it is time to move people away from the buffer zones of these wetlands and rivers, politicians favor and protect the invaders by disrupting the campaigns of ‘expulsion.

“There are many cases where politicians will say let’s give them some time, they’re doing the vote count in this area. Sometimes it doesn’t just last a month or two, it becomes years and these people are devouring the natural heritage and by the time you realize it is gone,” Mr Busiinge said.

He was speaking at the first national dialogue on wetlands organized by Join for Water in partnership with the Ministry of Water and Environment with the support of the Belgian government in Kampala.

Environmentalists have decried the lack of policy implementation due to unlimited government funding and called for increased funding for the environment department in the districts. The National Policy for the Conservation and Management of Wetlands, the Environment Act 1995, the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations 1998 and the Wetlands Regulations 2000 are among the laws providing the legal framework designed to ensure the protection and wise use of wetlands.

Mr. Busiinge also noted that abuse of power is another problem that destroys wetlands, saying that government untouchables use their powers to degrade natural assets, which motivates the poor to also go and cultivate in wetlands .

“Where I come from, I have seen local governments say no to the degradation of these wetlands by individuals or investors, but after a week or two, these people are back and working under high security. There is very little limited central government budget for the natural resources sector and that is why we cannot fully enforce the laws,” he said.

Ms Evelyne Busingye, Join for Water wetland inventory team leader in Fort Portal City, cited political interference, corruption issues, lack of coordination, communication and awareness of the law as well as lack of implementation of laws as the main causes of the problem. degradation of wetlands. She explained that those charged with protecting wetlands end up approving wetland permits and titles because of impunity.

Mr Isaiah Ndungo, national coordinator of Join for Water, said corruption, political interference and abuse of power are some of the factors hindering the protection of wetlands. “Through the work we did, we realized that there was corruption and problems related to governance. Kingmakers in the sense that they are more numerous in the courts than those who will enforce the laws, so they are more important than the enforcement of the laws in the courts,” Mr Ndungo said.

He added: “When a district environment officer wants to come and find out who is encroaching, who is dumping, he finds that the people who are dumping in the wetlands or draining the wetlands are taller than them and that they cannot be in a humid area. in a position to do anything Mr Ndungo called for increased funding for the enforcement of regulations related to wetland management, environment and natural resource management.

“One of the things we realized is that there is no money in the districts and when there is no money, the application becomes very complicated and then everything is compromised,” he declared.

Some areas have been affected by flooding, change in agricultural production pattern, water pollution and prolonged droughts due to wetland degradation.

Ms Christine Nakimwero Kaaya, Kiboga District MP and also Shadow Minister of Water and Environment, said communities should check the platforms of candidates and political parties on what they promise on water management. wetlands and the environment.

“When you look at people’s manifesto, they are afraid to even commit to doing something for wetlands and the environment. So you, the community, still need to ask the candidates to check what they are promising on wetland and environment management in their respective manifestos, even in the manifestos of political parties,” Ms Kaaya said.

She added: “This must be clearly expressed, otherwise, if we do not monitor the leaders at this level, we cannot ask them anything after their leaders. »

Ms Aisha Sekindi, Minister of State for Water, represented by David Stephen Mugabi, Director of Environmental Affairs at the Ministry of Water and Environment, said the government was tackling wetland degradation and regulated wetland conservation processes. She explained that these initiatives are crucial to preserve ecosystems and maintain biodiversity.

“As a government, we have mapped wetlands and demarcated their boundaries, restored wetlands where they had been degraded, sensitized communities and evicted those who settled in the wetlands,” Ms Sekindi said.

According to the Ministry of Water and Environment, wetland coverage increased from 13 percent in the 2021/2022 financial year to 13.9 percent and since 2020, approximately 445 km2 of wetlands have been restored. For his part, Mr Mugabi said the government had mapped 8,614 wetlands across the country.

“For these wetlands, we have their maps, their locations, with GPS coordinates in place. So this is no longer an excuse to say that we don’t know where the limits are. The limits have been defined,” Mr. Mugabi added.

Crisis
According to the Uganda Wetland Atlas, wetland coverage has since declined by 30 percent between 1994 and 2008. A 2023 performance report from the Ministry of Water and Environment warns that if the degradation is not stopped, Uganda risks losing all its wetlands by 2040.