Ebenezer T. Bifubyeka (Ten),
Biafra, Mbarara, Western Uganda.
SOME forestry reserves are empty and Uganda’s National Forest Authority (NFA) does not have the capacity to plant trees in all of them, according to NFA Spokesman, Moses Watasa.
That aside, the forest cover in Uganda has halved from 26% in 1988 to 13% in 2008, according to NFAs Coordinator for Global Information Systems and Mapping, John Diisi.
“About 86,000 hectares of trees, an equivalent of 2%, is lost yearly. Most destruction occurs on the private land where the government has no control. The future is not good. What is being destroyed is not restored,” Diisi says.
The New Vision of November 24, 2008 quotes NFA report warning that encroachment is the biggest problem within the protected areas. “Since (President Yoweri) Museveni stopped evictions from the reserves in 2006, the number of encroachers rose from 180,000 to 300,000.
However, President Museveni said the chucks of the Muduuma and Taligola forest reserves that NFA leased to private individuals to plant trees (under the National Tree Planting and Forestry Act) have been abused by cutting down trees and mining sand.
As though that is not enough, over 35,000 pine trees in Kyangyenyi sub-county in Bushenyi district have been cut as a result of wrangles between Muzira Mukundane and Nyarira Cooperative Societies (see The New Vision, December 5, 2008, page 10).
Today, forests should be looked at as gold since Climate Change and the subsequent Global Warming are biting hard. The government should regulate the cutting of trees on private land and treat private trees as a reserve. Because, as Watasa says, some forest reserves are empty and one wonders what NFA is reserving!
The hope remains in trees on private land since our forest reserves that are supposed to be protected are not protected – due to poor monitoring as the environment minister, Jessica Eriyo puts it.
It’s wise for the government to embark on sensitising the public about tree planting and reserving the mature ones especially now that people have seen the repercussions of deforestation.
In Kitgum, Nebbi, Gulu Amuru, Nakasongola, Sironko and Adjumani districts, households walk more than four kilometres to collect wood. On average, the distance moved to collect firewood has increased from 0.73 kilometres in 2000 to over a kilometre to date.
Let people know that besides being the source of herbal medicine, they can’t survive without oxygen that trees offer. Without talking of drought and subsequent famine, people in Iganga and Kamuli use plant residues and cow-dung to cook food and this has far-reaching effects on soil fertility.
The NFA’s Director of Technical Services, Paul Dritch warns that the rapid forest deforestation is disrupting agriculture since climate variations have started hitting farmers, particularly in the dry areas.
“The massive cutting of trees in lake areas has also led to declining water levels. Deforestation in Lake Victoria catchment areas has contributed to reduction of water levels in the lake, which has contributed to a drop in hydro output. It’s alarming that trees are cut down faster than new ones are planted,” Dritch says.
I suggest that government should enact and implement a bylaw that requires the owners of bare hills to clothe them with trees. More so, our government has the capacity to plant trees on the government-owned bare hills. And the sooner it does so, the richer its economy shall be and the safer its populace will be.
Ends.
Word Count: 56o.
No comments:
Post a Comment