Leave alone urban trees, they absorb toxic gases, noise…

Ebenezer T. Bifubyeka (Ten)

Biafra, Western Uganda.

Do we bother to ask ourselves why trees stand side by side with skyscrapers in cities within developed countries? Better still, can we know why forest reserves are part of the city environment in affluent countries?

The reason is to mitigate city noise and absorb pollutant gases. Trees just do that for you, free of charge - you don’t need to install any machinery as soundproof or gas-absorbers.

The move by the National Forest Authority to degazzate forest reserves in fifteen towns is not only a miscalculation but also a disastrous move! Urban centres are meeting points for greenhouse gases emitted from factories like steel rolling mills, vehicles, bakeries and incinerators among others. And trees are the immediate reducers of such pollutant gases.

Since some factory proprietors have not installed the electrostatic precipitators to capture particles of emissions of greenhouse gases from their steel rolling mills, trees remain an immediate alternative.

Besides, ornamental and ambient trees in urban compounds, streets, recreational centres and hospitals do mitigate the noise levels. In public hospitals like Mbarara regional referral hospital, there used to be enough shed trees purposely to reduce noise levels of vehicles for the sick.

It is unfortunate that those trees are being scared off, thus killing their geological purpose of mitigating noise. Trees do reflect the noise to the upper direction in the atmosphere, according to the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA)’s western regional environmental awareness officer, Jeconious Musingwire.

As Uganda moves towards development circles, we have started going more brown (non-green environment) than green (green environment). Despite pressures from investors and politicians to develop urban areas, the brown environment should be in harmony with conservation. Otherwise we shall head for desertification and famine!

On January 2, 2009, The New Vision published an article quoting the Director of Natural Resources in National Forestry Authority, Hudson Andura as saying, ‘fifteen urban forest reserves are to be degazzated to cater for the growing population and development in 15 towns countrywide.’ This plucked off my hair from the head!

The reserves in question are in: Arua, Kitubulu, Fort Portal, Gulu, Kabale, Lira, Mbale, Mbarara, Soroti, Kalangala, Kapchorwa, Kitgum, Nebbi, Ntungamo and Rukungiri.

It defeats my understanding. The escalating global warming – evidenced by climate change – warns us to stop further degradation of other green belts such as swamps, open grounds like independence parks and golf pitches. These green belts especially in urban areas - filtrate the run offs of surface water prior to other discharge water bodies.

In this regard therefore, I implore my beloved government to discourage the mushrooming public’s new style of cementing pavements and compounds. The green grasses are vital, for they ease the percolation of water into the soil.

More so, we are going skyscraper and storm water is increasing on the surface, resulting to floods. Floods are the breeding zones for the mosquitoes, which mosquitoes are behind the persistent malaria endemic, our number one killer in Uganda!

Instead of seeking solutions to address the already inconveniencing situation, we are worsening it by destroying the green belts that absorb water. Is anybody bothered about the loss of national tree cover from 28% in 1988 to 13% by 2008? The loss of water catchment areas has led to poor and filthy water quality thus subsequent deaths of fish!

For God’s sake, and for the sake of reducing or stopping the lethal challenges of diseases, famine and loss of fish market and noise; let’s be responsible and it’s not expensive for us to be. We only need to plant trees and protect the God-given ones; period.

Ends.

Wordcount: 595.