Reforestation will reduce landslides â€" UWA boss
Mar 07, 2010
THE landslides that hit Bududa district last week could have been avoided if the locals had not destroyed the vegetation cover, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) executive director, Moses Mapesa, has said.
By Paul Watala
THE landslides that hit Bududa district last week could have been avoided if the locals had not destroyed the vegetation cover, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) executive director, Moses Mapesa, has said.
“The more you remove the vegetation from the slopes, the more they get exposed to running water. It is unfortunate that this has happened, but we have tried to sensitise the people about the effects of cutting down trees in vain,†he said.
Mapesa added that the soils on Mt. Elgon are porous and can, therefore, not hold water for more than five days.
He urged the people around the mountain to practice environmental conservation.
Mapesa gave the advice while handing over relief items to the survivors of landslides at Bududa Hospital.
The items, worth sh5m, included sugar, salt, soap, blankets, bedsheets and jerrycans.
Lillian Nsubuga, the UWA spokesperson, said Bumbo sub-county in Manafwa district was another area that could face landslides.Â
“Bumbo outpost in the mountains is at risk because the land is shacking uncontrollably,†Nsubuga observed.Â
She stressed that the only way to mitigate such disastrous environmental calamities is to restore degraded areas by planting trees.Â
“It feels bad to lose such big numbers of people. We could have avoided it if communities maintained the environment,†Nsubuga added.
THE landslides that hit Bududa district last week could have been avoided if the locals had not destroyed the vegetation cover, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) executive director, Moses Mapesa, has said.
“The more you remove the vegetation from the slopes, the more they get exposed to running water. It is unfortunate that this has happened, but we have tried to sensitise the people about the effects of cutting down trees in vain,†he said.
Mapesa added that the soils on Mt. Elgon are porous and can, therefore, not hold water for more than five days.
He urged the people around the mountain to practice environmental conservation.
Mapesa gave the advice while handing over relief items to the survivors of landslides at Bududa Hospital.
The items, worth sh5m, included sugar, salt, soap, blankets, bedsheets and jerrycans.
Lillian Nsubuga, the UWA spokesperson, said Bumbo sub-county in Manafwa district was another area that could face landslides.Â
“Bumbo outpost in the mountains is at risk because the land is shacking uncontrollably,†Nsubuga observed.Â
She stressed that the only way to mitigate such disastrous environmental calamities is to restore degraded areas by planting trees.Â
“It feels bad to lose such big numbers of people. We could have avoided it if communities maintained the environment,†Nsubuga added.