Why we should protect Uganda's natural beauty

By Patrick Ajuna

At a recent parliamentary forum on forests accountability which was organised by Panos Eastern Africa in collaboration with Care International in Uganda and Anti-Corruption Coalition (ACCU) at Hotel Africana, where I happened to be the rapporteur, it was revealed that forests cover in Uganda reduces at an alarming rate of 200,000 hectares annually, according to the findings of the recent research conducted by the Advocate Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE).

The forum was attended by members of the Parliamentary Forum on Climate Change -Uganda, Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources, the representatives of the National Forestry Authority (NFA), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), the academicians, researchers and the media, among others.

Similarly, an earlier investigative story titled "Behind the Scenes" by WEMNET 2014, published in the media revealed that over 52 land titles in forest reserves had been issued fraudulently to individuals and/investors.

The result of this unfortunate development is that about ten central forest reserves have been affected by this illegal issuance of land titles and encroachments. These forests include; Budongo, Namanve, Kituburu, Bufulu Mugomba, Matiri, Kyewaga, Gunda, Nonve, Sango Bay and Kajansi.

Bududa area which is prone to landslides is also reported to be seriously affected by illegal forests encroachment.

According to the NFA document titled ‘Status of Forests in Uganda as of 2015', the area of forests cover in Uganda by 2015 was 1.8 million hectares which had reduced from 2.3 million hectares in 2005 and 4.9 million hectares in 1990.

This alarming trend in forests destruction should be a cause of serious concern to all Ugandans bearing in mind that the results of these illegal and irresponsible activities on our forests would be disastrous to the future generation.

Paul Buyera, an official of NFA sounded an alarm bell by saying, "If the current trend of deforestation continues, Uganda will be a desert in the next 40 years". 

While Uganda boosts of a rich legal framework on forests conservation and sustainable utilization of forest resources as contained in the 1995 Uganda Constitution, the Forestry Policy Act, 2001 and the National Forestry and Tree planting Act (NFTPA), 2003, among others, coupled with a broad institutional frame work for forest resource governance, comprising of various central and local government agencies such as the National Forestry Authority (NFA), the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA), and District Forestry Department, the problem of encroachment in gazetted forests and possession of illegal land titles in forest reserves have continued to affect the forest sector.

An investigation on this problem conducted by ACCU in 2014 established that corruption, greed and disregard of the law and policies that govern the forest sector as the main causes of the illegal issuance of land titles to and encroachments in forests reserves.

In view of the fore mentioned problems therefore, all the relevant authorities with the mandate to conserve, protect and enforce justice in the sustainable management and equitable utilization of forests resources like the IGG and Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources should, as a matter urgency swing into action by conducting thorough investigations to establish the circumstances under which some individuals and/investors acquired land titles in forest reserves.

Responsible institutions/bodies like NFA, NEMA and the Ministry of Lands should be subjected to a thorough audit and no stone should be left unturned in order to rid them of the corrupt, greedy and irresponsible people in an UNRA-like fashion.

Besides, a deliberate policy should be adopted to promote a fair distribution of forest reserves in each region of the country. This should be done by gazetting more land for forestry development in those regions with few or no forest reserves.

This would not only help to check on the effects of climate change but justice would be seen to be done to people in all areas without others having to feel unfairly affected by natural resources/ environmental laws.

It is through the implementation of such measures that will make our country stand the Pearl of Africa's crown.

The writer is an educationist and patriotic Ugandan