By Ebenezer T. Bifubyeka,Mbarara, Western Uganda.
ALTHOUGH trees to spice up the magnificence of buildings are inadequate, the fascinating view from any of the seven hills surrounding Kampala - leaves one in love with the beauty of this Uganda’s capital city.
The mushrooming hotels, commercial buildings, roads and mansions are on the steering wheel of the facelift of Kampala city. However, this long-awaited beauty - emanating from the continuous construction - is materialising at the expense of our minute but indispensable natural beauty!
Besides the endangered endowed trees, wetlands are insufficient in Uganda. Researchers say that only 10% of Uganda’s total land area of about 205,000 sq. km is occupied by wetlands. And this tiny portion is alarmingly threatened by investors’ constructions!
It left my heart bleeding on reading press reports that the 3.5-acre Kampala city council park’s tree nursery in Bugolobi, which was gazetted in 1950s as a source of seedlings and a reservoir for green grass, shrubs and ornamental trees in the then green city.
Bugolobi swamp is part of Nakivubo wetland, which controls floods and filters wastes before its water joins Lake Victoria, the regional aquatic gold mine. This natural privilege is now history since the land in question was leased four years ago for 49 years to Kiwawu enterprises, Echo pharmacy and J.B.M (whatever this stands for) international.
In a heated reaction, the security chairman for Nakawa division, Abdul Mugerwa accused NEMA’s (national environmental management authority) top officials for issuing permits to investors to construct in wetlands at the expense of the poor!
“Without consulting local leaders, NEMA issues wetland permits to the rich and evict poor people (see The New Vision of May 12, 2008, page 4).” On contrary or self-defense, NEMA’s chief, Dr. Aryamanya H. Mugisha reportedly said, ‘It is illegal for anyone to get a lease in a wetland. And I will investigate the matter.”
However, shortage of fish has hit the country. Could this have resulted from over fishing coupled with illegal means of fishing like substandard nets? Or is the scarcity of fish due to water pollution? I strongly believe in the latter cause because pollution poisons fish, leading to the extinction of some fish species!
Consequently, global warming has welcomed the reckless management of wetlands that are water reservoirs and filters for our essential giant lakes. As you read this piece, Siberia’s Lake Baikal, the world’s largest lake, has warmed faster than global air temperatures over the past 60 years! This puts the aquatic life therein in peril!
According to Marianne Moore, a biology professor at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, Lake Baikal has warmed to 1.21 degrees Celsius, almost three times faster than the global air temperatures, since 1946. The frigid lake holds 20% of the world’s freshwater and boasts of 2,500 species, most of them found nowhere else, such as the world’s only exclusive freshwater seal,” he said.
Unfortunately, the Global Change Biology journal reveals that Lake Baikal’s annual days of ice cover had fallen by an average of 18 days over the last 100 years; and could drop to between two weeks to two months more by the end of the century!
Reacting to this, Moore said Lake Baikal’s seal, which raises the offspring on the ice, could suffer when the ice caves in which the offspring are raised - do melt. He said Baikal’s seal has several onshore predators like the Asian crows! Moore and his fellow scientists say the lake’s increased warming is due to climate change. But what do you think are the causes of climate change? This is your homework.
Back to our city; the burgeoning constructions in our ill-fated Kampala are adding salt into the wetland’s injury caused by the brick-layers. Constructors have often tussled it out with Kampala city council over the encroachment of wetlands. These constructions exacerbate the traditional mistake of constructing bigger part of the city in the lowland meant for wetlands! This has earned the dwellers a repercussion of chronic floods!!!
A misleading public belief reigns that waterlogged areas are useless – except the provision of building/thatching materials, crafts and a few fish: lung fish, Protopterus, catfish and Clarias species. Besides, wetlands are often destroyed by ruthless farmers.
Bearing in mind that agriculture continues to displace large portions of wetlands due to our economy’s almost utter reliance on agriculture, we better regulate how and where we construct. The increasing population already strains our traditional cultivable land, which has led to encroachment on forest resources, game reserves and of course - swamps.
The wetland resources seem diverse because of occupying altitudes ranging from about 1,100 m on the shores of Lake Victoria to over 4,000 m on the Rwenzori Mountains. This may stimulate (like it has already done) investors to construct in wetlands! But these waterlogged areas are not wastelands; neither are they opportunities for development.
Wetlands regulate groundwater besides filtering it. In addition to checking the flow of running water, wetlands are a habitat for many bird species like cranes. Therefore, government should declare wetlands protected areas and be conserved by the rule of law.
I leave a challenge to NEMA to develop a wetlands policy that provides a framework for strict management of the wetlands. Short of this, we better start saving money to keep us alive during the subsequent drought(s) and ruthless famine!
ALTHOUGH trees to spice up the magnificence of buildings are inadequate, the fascinating view from any of the seven hills surrounding Kampala - leaves one in love with the beauty of this Uganda’s capital city.
The mushrooming hotels, commercial buildings, roads and mansions are on the steering wheel of the facelift of Kampala city. However, this long-awaited beauty - emanating from the continuous construction - is materialising at the expense of our minute but indispensable natural beauty!
Besides the endangered endowed trees, wetlands are insufficient in Uganda. Researchers say that only 10% of Uganda’s total land area of about 205,000 sq. km is occupied by wetlands. And this tiny portion is alarmingly threatened by investors’ constructions!
It left my heart bleeding on reading press reports that the 3.5-acre Kampala city council park’s tree nursery in Bugolobi, which was gazetted in 1950s as a source of seedlings and a reservoir for green grass, shrubs and ornamental trees in the then green city.
Bugolobi swamp is part of Nakivubo wetland, which controls floods and filters wastes before its water joins Lake Victoria, the regional aquatic gold mine. This natural privilege is now history since the land in question was leased four years ago for 49 years to Kiwawu enterprises, Echo pharmacy and J.B.M (whatever this stands for) international.
In a heated reaction, the security chairman for Nakawa division, Abdul Mugerwa accused NEMA’s (national environmental management authority) top officials for issuing permits to investors to construct in wetlands at the expense of the poor!
“Without consulting local leaders, NEMA issues wetland permits to the rich and evict poor people (see The New Vision of May 12, 2008, page 4).” On contrary or self-defense, NEMA’s chief, Dr. Aryamanya H. Mugisha reportedly said, ‘It is illegal for anyone to get a lease in a wetland. And I will investigate the matter.”
However, shortage of fish has hit the country. Could this have resulted from over fishing coupled with illegal means of fishing like substandard nets? Or is the scarcity of fish due to water pollution? I strongly believe in the latter cause because pollution poisons fish, leading to the extinction of some fish species!
Consequently, global warming has welcomed the reckless management of wetlands that are water reservoirs and filters for our essential giant lakes. As you read this piece, Siberia’s Lake Baikal, the world’s largest lake, has warmed faster than global air temperatures over the past 60 years! This puts the aquatic life therein in peril!
According to Marianne Moore, a biology professor at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, Lake Baikal has warmed to 1.21 degrees Celsius, almost three times faster than the global air temperatures, since 1946. The frigid lake holds 20% of the world’s freshwater and boasts of 2,500 species, most of them found nowhere else, such as the world’s only exclusive freshwater seal,” he said.
Unfortunately, the Global Change Biology journal reveals that Lake Baikal’s annual days of ice cover had fallen by an average of 18 days over the last 100 years; and could drop to between two weeks to two months more by the end of the century!
Reacting to this, Moore said Lake Baikal’s seal, which raises the offspring on the ice, could suffer when the ice caves in which the offspring are raised - do melt. He said Baikal’s seal has several onshore predators like the Asian crows! Moore and his fellow scientists say the lake’s increased warming is due to climate change. But what do you think are the causes of climate change? This is your homework.
Back to our city; the burgeoning constructions in our ill-fated Kampala are adding salt into the wetland’s injury caused by the brick-layers. Constructors have often tussled it out with Kampala city council over the encroachment of wetlands. These constructions exacerbate the traditional mistake of constructing bigger part of the city in the lowland meant for wetlands! This has earned the dwellers a repercussion of chronic floods!!!
A misleading public belief reigns that waterlogged areas are useless – except the provision of building/thatching materials, crafts and a few fish: lung fish, Protopterus, catfish and Clarias species. Besides, wetlands are often destroyed by ruthless farmers.
Bearing in mind that agriculture continues to displace large portions of wetlands due to our economy’s almost utter reliance on agriculture, we better regulate how and where we construct. The increasing population already strains our traditional cultivable land, which has led to encroachment on forest resources, game reserves and of course - swamps.
The wetland resources seem diverse because of occupying altitudes ranging from about 1,100 m on the shores of Lake Victoria to over 4,000 m on the Rwenzori Mountains. This may stimulate (like it has already done) investors to construct in wetlands! But these waterlogged areas are not wastelands; neither are they opportunities for development.
Wetlands regulate groundwater besides filtering it. In addition to checking the flow of running water, wetlands are a habitat for many bird species like cranes. Therefore, government should declare wetlands protected areas and be conserved by the rule of law.
I leave a challenge to NEMA to develop a wetlands policy that provides a framework for strict management of the wetlands. Short of this, we better start saving money to keep us alive during the subsequent drought(s) and ruthless famine!
· Ends.
Word count: 892.
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