Kalagala Falls: Conservation amidst broken promises

After backtracking on its promise to keep Kalagala falls intact, the Government is seeking to redeem itself by setting up a special conservation area between Bujagali and Isimba.

In our last part of the series on Isimba dam, Gerald Tenywa analyses this move and the way the communities have perceived it.

Aisha Mutesi, a resident of Bulangira village, Kisozi sub-county in Kamuli district, is married to her land. She looks at the coffee berries on her farmland with the keenness of an eagle. She is looking up to the coming harvest to make some money.

As we settle down, Mutesi looks troubled by the conversation on the new agenda by the Government in her village and many others sitting along the banks of River Nile.

“I do not know why the Government has planted trees on our land,” said Mutesi, adding that she was not against conservation, but that the Government has not provided compensation for planting trees on their land.

“I feel constrained because if I want to use my land for something else which does not favour trees, I will not freely do it.”

Mutesi’s sentiments are repeated many times in Kamuli, Jinja, Kayunga and Buikwe districts, where the Government has created Kalagala-Itanda Falls Special Conservation Area.

This is an area covering 2,835 hectares of land, which Parliament gazetted as a special conservation area in December 2019, according to the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA’s) state of environment report 2018-2019.

The Kalagala-Itanda Falls Special Conservation Area includes the Nile Bank Central Forest Reserve in Kamuli district, Namavundu Central Forest Reserve in Jinja district and Kalagala Central Forest Reserve in Kayunga district.

It also includes a 100-metre river bank from the highest water mark on either side of River Nile, including the islands within the Nile from 2.5km north of Bujagali dam along 15.7km between Bujagali and Isimba dams to the most northern part of Nile Bank Central Forest Reserve.

Kalagala-Itanda Falls Special Conservation Area lies on both the western and eastern side of River Nile in the sub-counties of Kangulumira in Kayunga district, Kisozi in Kamuli district, Wakisi in Buikwe district and Butagaya and Budondo in Jinja district.

BACKGROUND

As a way of overcoming the negative impacts of the construction of Bujagali hydropower dam, the Government entered into an agreement with the World Bank to protect the downstream parts of River Nile. This included Kalagala and Itanda falls.

In effect, there was no dam construction expected along the Nile between Bujagali and Isimba, according to Leo Twinomuhangi, the co-ordinator policy and planning at the National Forestry Authority (NFA).

However, the Government decided to construct Isimba dam, which caused the damming of some of the rapids and islands within Kalagala-Itanda offset area.

As a remedy, the Government agreed to put in place the Kalagala-Itanda Sustainable Management Plan, which led to the creation of the special conservation area.

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This, according to NEMA’s state of the environment report, was set up to restore the environment, as well as protect the remaining natural environment and cultural heritage along the Nile. It was also expected to maintain the eco-tourism assets.

The conservation area is to remain a haven for aquatic biodiversity and natural habitats, including endemic fish species of global and national conservation concern. It also curtails infrastructure developments that could adversely affect and alter the ecology, biodiversity and aquatic ecosystem of River Nile. They include roads, railway and dams, according to NEMA report.

“It was also set up to promote research to enhance ecological functionality and values, as well as enhance sustainable livelihoods for local communities,” states the report.

KALAGALA-ITANDA MILESTONES

Kalagala-Itanda Special Conservation Area will help conserve the river, given that existing forests and wetlands were under encroachment, Leo Twinomuhangi, the co-ordinator policy and planning at the National Forestry Authority, said.

“This remains a big challenge. The degradation of the environment is accelerating impacts of the changing climate,” he added.

However, the Government has realised that you cannot have dams without protecting the catchment.

“For us in conservation, this is a good indicator that this is a natural resource-based economy and government cannot avoid paying attention to the environment.

“We all know that it is difficult to transform the economy without power. However, climate change is also with us and it is important to protect the environment and shield humanity from its negative impacts. We need to plant trees, protect forests and wetlands because they are reservoirs of water, which is needed to power dams,” Twinomuhangi noted.

BURDEN OR OPPORTUNITY?

While most residents staying along the Nile look at the new conservation area as a burden, government officials say the intervention is a big opportunity.

According to Twinomuhangi, Kalagala-Itanda Special Conservation Area has come to enhance conservation. He said this was a way of introducing sustainable management of the landscape, which would not only benefit the environment, but also contribute to better livelihood of the communities.

Twinomuhangi said the banks of the Nile had been badly degraded over the years, adding that they had suffered encroachment as a result of expansive agriculture and overdependence on biomass energy, such as charcoal and firewood.

“As the water runs off the bare banks of the Nile, it carries a lot of silt into the river,” he said, adding that increasing the tree cover on the banks of the river would contribute to the restoration of the environment.

CONFLICT

There is a writing on the wall, which shows that all is not well for the environment and well-being of the people staying along the Nile. This can be seen in the anger that is driving some people to uproot the trees planted as part of the restoration interventions of Kalagala-Itanda Special Conservation Area.

Some of the concrete pillars demarcating its boundaries are also being uprooted.

This leaves a glaring question, how sustainable are the Government’s interventions under Kalagala-Itanda Special Conservation Area?

While the creation of the conservation area is regarded as an opportunity to enhance conservation, the top-down approach of the Government inherently poses huge challenges.

“The Government is not a good actor when it comes to consultation and engagement of the communities,” Geoffrey Mugabe, an environmental activist, said.

“This has led to mistrust thriving among communities staying near River Nile. There are people who believe rumours that the Government wants to grab their land,” he added.

This, according to Mugabe, shows the lack of appreciation of the Government’s intervention regarding environmental conservation, pointing out that there was a need to invest in awareness and incentives.

“We need to empower people to benefit from water and businesses such as eco-tourism created on the banks of River Nile,” he said.

The protest by the communities against the Kalagala-Itanda Special Conservation Area is riding on the back of another conflict where communities are complaining about the damming of their land without compensation.

According to John Oluka, a fisherman in Butadhiba zone, Kanyiro parish, Kisozi sub-county, Kamuli district, the fishing community has been denied access to the reservoir of Isimba dam.

“One of the activities prohibited at Isimba dam reservoir area is fishing, but with no compensation,” he told New Vision in an interview.

“I want to go elsewhere, but I have no choice but to continue fishing illegally near the river banks. We are treated like thieves when we are arrested by the military.”

This worrisome situation is speaking to a conflict that is brewing along the Nile. However, the crisis creates an opportunity for government agencies to create awareness and provide direct benefits to the communities, according to Onesmus Mugyenyi, the deputy executive director of Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment.