The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Buganda Kingdom has called for the integration of the national plans to ensure that protection of the environment is considered alongside different strategies.
“How have we planned for the growing number of youthful people who need work and get money?” the Katikkiro of Buganda Charles Peter Mayiga has asked. “The national plans need to be integrated, if you are talking about the economy, you must also talk about the environment.”
Mayiga was today speaking at an event at Bulange-Mengo where he unveiled the Kingdom Board for environment conservation. At the same event, the kingdom entered into a partnership with Climate Action Network – a network for environmental non-governmental organizations and World Wide Fund for Nature Uganda. The partnerships are envisaged to promote environmental conservation.
The Katikkiro said that the encroachment on forest cover and water bodies is a matter of great concern to the kingdom since these harbor many Buganda Kingdom totems that are key to heritage.
Uganda has 506 central forest reserves managed by the National Forestry Authority (NFA) which represents 15 percent of total forest cover.
The remaining 85 percent forest cover is managed by local governments, individuals and different institutions. However, red flags have been raised severally over the illegal issuance of land titles in forests, charcoal burning, illegal logging and other activities that pose threat to the forest cover.
Mayiga says that the biggest percentage of what constitutes the kingdom of Buganda is water, forests, wild animal habitats and that their worry is that Ugandans have increasingly encroached on this natural world.
“We have lost wild animals, we are losing water resources and forests and I understand the new number of zoonotic diseases originating from animals and transmitted to people has increased drastically over the last century,” he said. “And the climate hazards are very obvious, every now and then we get landslides especially in Bugisu, the Rwenzori areas and other places.”
He said that besides landslides, floods and drought are equally experienced even in parts of Buganda in the areas of Mawogola and Gomba. Mayiga says that the dry spells were not witnessed in the past.
The Katikkiro says that it needs to be a government policy for every homestead to practice animal husbandry as a way of protecting forests and wetlands.
He explained that having cows, pigs or chicken can help homesteads use waste to nourish the soils so that they yield sufficient quantities of food which would possibly prevent people from encroaching on environment and forests.
“And of course we produce a lot of kids,” Mayiga added. There shouldn’t be a big problem for a big population if we planned for the increasing number of people. What are they going to feed on?”
He also noted the dangers of pollution especially plastics that are seen in different parts of the country clogging streams. Mayiga says that this situation is worrying and needs a collective response.
Mayiga revealed that the new Kingdom partnership with World Wide Fund for Nature will help them recover nature through different initiatives to be created within the Kingdom and Uganda.
He said that the Kingdom is going to initiate a campaign in all schools within Buganda for them to institute ‘Kaveera’ check points to ensure that these are not littered as a way of ensuring a clean and safe environment. The Katikkiro further explains that this campaign is to help youngsters learn how to deal with plastics.
Mayiga also called upon every household in Buganda to plant a lemon or citrus tree saying that these will contribute to their good health, income and nature recovery. He called upon government to step-up conservation of the remaining forests and water bodies and also prevail over people who build industries and factories in the wetlands.
Proscovia Nanyonjo Vikman, the Chairperson of the Kingdom Board for environment conservation said that one of the areas that have been having crisis from climate change and environmental degradation has been Buganda.
“But we have not been negotiating. We were putting our hands up even when Lwera was going but with this board, I think we have a voice,” said Nanyonjo.
She pledged that with a technical team with whom she is going to serve, Buganda can have a stage at the international and national level when it comes to climate change, environmental protection and conservation.
*****
URN
