Environment-keen CBOs team up to protect wetlands in Mpigi
Dec 29, 2023
The campaign also aims at building capacity for local communities to save wetlands by holding economic actors accountable.

Stakeholders pose in a group photo with Teddy Nambooze, the Woman Member of Parliament for Mpigi district. Photo by Simon Ssekidde

Simon Ssekidde
Journalist @New Vision
Community-based organisations (CBOs) in Uganda's central district of Mpigi are teaming up in a campaign aimed at protecting and saving wetlands.
The campaign was launched on Friday.
It has brought together CBOs operating within Mpigi as well as environmental activists whose work revolves around raising awareness about the dangers of encroaching on wetlands.
The initiative spearheaded by Fridays For Future Uganda — a climate advocacy organisation — in partnership with Urgent Climate Action Africa (UCAA), a local conservation group that says is fighting "for a safe planet".
The campaign also aims at building capacity for local communities to save wetlands by holding economic actors accountable.
Wetland invasion
Andrew Mugonza, the executive director of UCAA, said they aim at guarding the many wetlands in Mpigi that are under threat from community members, and investors who erect factories in the areas occupied by the wetland resources.
"We all know the strategic location of Mpigi district attracts very many people who come to invest in factories and agriculture. Unfortunately, these people go ahead to get clearance from different authorities and invade our wetland and they end up destroying them," he said.
Mugonza said their planned interventions include sensitizing the communities, especially those near the wetlands, on the importance of protecting the wetlands and the dangers that come with the destruction of these spaces.
Conserving natural resources is important as it is a major source of livelihood for many communities surrounding them.
'Behavioral change'
Janita Kauda, a climate activist from Fridays for Future Uganda, called for a collective community approach and affirmative actions to conserve and restore wetlands for sustainable development.
She noted that the massive wetland destruction has resulted in climate change globally and underlined wetland conservation as a key solution to reducing natural disasters.
"There is need for wetland restoration and conservation and this can be obtained through behavioral change by all actors and also empowering the community members to guard against all the actors against destroying the wetlands," said Kauda.
Timothy Mugerwa from Green Climate Campaign Africa said it should be everyone's responsibility to conserve and save wetlands.
He said they have embarked on a massive sensitization campaign for community members in the district to avoid actions that are not friendly to the wetlands.
"We are planning to use village leaders and leaders at all levels in our awareness campaign to conserve the wetlands. We all know our wetlands are facing serious threats from encroachers and other actors."
The campaign was launched at Mlex Hotel in Maya.
Guest of honour Teddy Nambooze, the Mpigi Woman MP, applauded the environmental activists for coming up with this campaign that is hoped will help save the remaining wetland in the district from getting destroyed.
She pledged to work together with the CBOs in creating awareness about the importance of conserving the wetlands and restoring the degraded wetland cover.
Nambooze underlined the need for the government to equip the Environmental Protection Police to deal with errant encroachers and also improve surveillance and enforcement ability.
"The government needs to empower and equip the environment management and protection Police to do its surveillance and enforcement on the wetlands. We need to protect our wetlands for future generations," said the legislator.
Different actors called on the government to rein in its agencies, such as the National Environmental Management Authority that issues operating certificates to investors who have built factories in wetlands.