Closely supervise leased out forests
EDITOR—Vice-President Gilbert Bukenya was right to condemn the leasing out of forests to people without close supervision of the activities carried out there. For sustainable management, the National Forestry and Tree Planting Act, 2003 spells out prohibited activities in forest reserves, includin
EDITOR—Vice-President Gilbert Bukenya was right to condemn the leasing out of forests to people without close supervision of the activities carried out there. For sustainable management, the National Forestry and Tree Planting Act, 2003 spells out prohibited activities in forest reserves, including unauthorised extraction of timber.
However, some of the investors who are given leases to plant trees by the National Forestry Authority (NFA) have instead turned to illegally cutting down trees for timber and using the cleared land for crop farming to set up rice, cassava, cotton, sorghum, maize and tobacco fields in these protected areas! This sabotages efforts to protect and utilise the forests in a sustainable manner.
To address this situation, the NFA should therefore broaden its subsidies to the private sector for establishment of large commercial timber plantations on private land. This will be a source of timber and reduce pressure on the protected natural forests.
The NFA should also initiate a component to consistently monitor investors who acquire leases and address encroachment in protected areas in an orderly way. If these vital resources are lost, they will be very difficult and expensive to restore and in the long- run, accelerate poverty.
Patrick Abigaba
Makerere University
However, some of the investors who are given leases to plant trees by the National Forestry Authority (NFA) have instead turned to illegally cutting down trees for timber and using the cleared land for crop farming to set up rice, cassava, cotton, sorghum, maize and tobacco fields in these protected areas! This sabotages efforts to protect and utilise the forests in a sustainable manner.
To address this situation, the NFA should therefore broaden its subsidies to the private sector for establishment of large commercial timber plantations on private land. This will be a source of timber and reduce pressure on the protected natural forests.
The NFA should also initiate a component to consistently monitor investors who acquire leases and address encroachment in protected areas in an orderly way. If these vital resources are lost, they will be very difficult and expensive to restore and in the long- run, accelerate poverty.
Patrick Abigaba
Makerere University