Termites rage as more trees are cut in Nakasongola
Jun 04, 2008
IT is rare for local people to cling to a promise for more than a decade. But victims of termites in Nakitoma in Nakasongola District, recall President Yoweri Museveni’s promise when he toured the district in 1999.
By Gerald Tenywa
IT is rare for local people to cling to a promise for more than a decade. But victims of termites in Nakitoma in Nakasongola District, recall President Yoweri Museveni’s promise when he toured the district in 1999.
“Museveni promised to deal with this problem when the residents complained that termites had become a menace,†says Godfrey Kawuma, a resident of Nakitoma.
Kawuma says the agriculture state minister, Kibirige Ssebunya, stood up at the same meeting to receive orders from Museveni to wipe the termites out of the area.
However, a decade later, and as we commemorate the World Environment Day today, the war against termites in Nakasongola has not taken off.
“This is a serious problem. People who lock their houses for a week usually find almost nothing in the house,†says James Kunobere, the district environment officer.
“If you have a bag in the house and leave it untouched for two to three days, you find part of it eaten up.â€
The problem is affecting the whole of Nakasongola. “In the rangelands, termites compete with cattle for grass,†says Robert Kityo, a natural resources management expert working with the National Forestry Authority.
“The termites leave the ground bare.†They even eat trees that have little moisture. Most parts of Nakasongola’s rangeland are bare. People who build mud-and-wattle houses are also under constant threat since termites work through the poles to the top of the houses to eat the grass. At the onset of the rainy season, the leaky shelters collapse.
Even cultivators are not spared. Kityo says half of the cassava stems that are planted are usually chewed by the termites. They also munch cereals like millet. “If you delay to harvest millet, you find it eaten.†Termites also eat cereals during storage.
Ecological balance distorted
“Termites are everywhere, why is it that their effect is severe in Nakasongola?†asks Kityo.
Kityo says in Mbarara, which is hotter than Nakasongola, some people sleep in houses made of dry banana fibre, but they are never attacked by termites.
There is a distortion in the ecological systems of Nakasongola. Ecology is the harmonious interaction of different components and there is something that is not being supplied.
Although no conclusive research has been done, fingers are pointing at water scarcity and the widespread cutting of trees as factors that have led to the increase in termites.
“This is a semi-arid area and the vegetation cover that shelters the soil is under threat since charcoal burning is one of the main economic activities in the area,†says Kityo.
When the soil is exposed, moisture is lost and termites go out looking for water. Another possibility, which researchers need to investigate, is the harsh conditions that have been created by massive felling of trees, which have killed predators of termites, allowing the termite population to multiply.
The woes of the people in Nakasongola are not about to end because the trees preferred by charcoal burners take long to mature.
Kityo cited combretum, terminalia and accassia as some of the trees that are used in the making of charcoal, which is also known as ‘black gold.’
Other economic activities like pastoralism and fishing are also unfriendly to trees, according to Kityo.
For instance, when cattle-keepers occupy a piece of land with many trees, they cut them down to allow grass to grow, while the fishing communities cut down trees to smoke fish. Deforestation is so severe in the district that people walk for five to eight kilometres in search of firewood.
Ironically, Nakasongola is the main source of charcoal that provides fuel for cooking in Kampala. But this may not last.
According to the State of Environment Report released by the National Environment Management Authority, the district has lost half of its vegetation cover.
Solution
At the moment, the solution is to plant trees that are not easily devoured by termites. There is a tree known as Lira, which repels termites. To mitigate the negative impact of termite attack, most people build houses using poles of trees like Lira, according to Kityo.
Residents were urged to plant pine trees since they are also resistant to termites. This was done under a pilot initiative with the hope that the trees would capture water during the rainy season so that termites do not wander looking for moisture. The ants, which are biological enemies of termites, would also multiply and hunt down the termites, hence checking their numbers indirectly.
But the shortcoming of this initiative is that it did no go beyond the pilot study that was conducted in Nalukonge.
“The result of this research was supposed to feed into mitigation measures and the interventions of the district and Government,†says Kityo.
Another initiative that started two years ago has promising results.
“When we left one area where cattle had been kept without disturbance, the vegetation regenerated and there was no attack by termites,†says Dr Denis Mpairwe, a Makerere University researcher.
“The termites attacked when we kept cattle continuously on another part of the vegetation.â€
He says although further research is being conducted, this could be a breakthrough to tame the termites.
Way forward
“We should work on aspects like deforestation, farming systems and livestock-keeping,†says Kityo.
“Once we have interventions in that direction, it is possible to bail people out of the problem.â€
Termites are causing
poverty “When there is crop failure as a result of the destruction caused by termites, people turn to charcoal burning.
“This causes more distortion of the ecology,†says Kityo.
The district should mobilise charcoal burners to protect the environment.
“Residents should be trained in better ways of recovering charcoal. The district should also set aside a fund for restoring the environment,†says Kityo.
“What is happening is like mining wealth.â€
Ronald Kaggwa of the National Environment Management Authority concurs. He says the United Nations Environment Programme has helped Nakasongola make an environment management plan.
“It will help the district in the integration of environment in its plans as well as budget for environmental protection,†he says.
When this is achieved, people like Kawuma will stop asking Museveni to intervene in their problems.
IT is rare for local people to cling to a promise for more than a decade. But victims of termites in Nakitoma in Nakasongola District, recall President Yoweri Museveni’s promise when he toured the district in 1999.
“Museveni promised to deal with this problem when the residents complained that termites had become a menace,†says Godfrey Kawuma, a resident of Nakitoma.
Kawuma says the agriculture state minister, Kibirige Ssebunya, stood up at the same meeting to receive orders from Museveni to wipe the termites out of the area.
However, a decade later, and as we commemorate the World Environment Day today, the war against termites in Nakasongola has not taken off.
“This is a serious problem. People who lock their houses for a week usually find almost nothing in the house,†says James Kunobere, the district environment officer.
“If you have a bag in the house and leave it untouched for two to three days, you find part of it eaten up.â€
The problem is affecting the whole of Nakasongola. “In the rangelands, termites compete with cattle for grass,†says Robert Kityo, a natural resources management expert working with the National Forestry Authority.
“The termites leave the ground bare.†They even eat trees that have little moisture. Most parts of Nakasongola’s rangeland are bare. People who build mud-and-wattle houses are also under constant threat since termites work through the poles to the top of the houses to eat the grass. At the onset of the rainy season, the leaky shelters collapse.
Even cultivators are not spared. Kityo says half of the cassava stems that are planted are usually chewed by the termites. They also munch cereals like millet. “If you delay to harvest millet, you find it eaten.†Termites also eat cereals during storage.
Ecological balance distorted
“Termites are everywhere, why is it that their effect is severe in Nakasongola?†asks Kityo.
Kityo says in Mbarara, which is hotter than Nakasongola, some people sleep in houses made of dry banana fibre, but they are never attacked by termites.
There is a distortion in the ecological systems of Nakasongola. Ecology is the harmonious interaction of different components and there is something that is not being supplied.
Although no conclusive research has been done, fingers are pointing at water scarcity and the widespread cutting of trees as factors that have led to the increase in termites.
“This is a semi-arid area and the vegetation cover that shelters the soil is under threat since charcoal burning is one of the main economic activities in the area,†says Kityo.
When the soil is exposed, moisture is lost and termites go out looking for water. Another possibility, which researchers need to investigate, is the harsh conditions that have been created by massive felling of trees, which have killed predators of termites, allowing the termite population to multiply.
The woes of the people in Nakasongola are not about to end because the trees preferred by charcoal burners take long to mature.
Kityo cited combretum, terminalia and accassia as some of the trees that are used in the making of charcoal, which is also known as ‘black gold.’
Other economic activities like pastoralism and fishing are also unfriendly to trees, according to Kityo.
For instance, when cattle-keepers occupy a piece of land with many trees, they cut them down to allow grass to grow, while the fishing communities cut down trees to smoke fish. Deforestation is so severe in the district that people walk for five to eight kilometres in search of firewood.
Ironically, Nakasongola is the main source of charcoal that provides fuel for cooking in Kampala. But this may not last.
According to the State of Environment Report released by the National Environment Management Authority, the district has lost half of its vegetation cover.
Solution
At the moment, the solution is to plant trees that are not easily devoured by termites. There is a tree known as Lira, which repels termites. To mitigate the negative impact of termite attack, most people build houses using poles of trees like Lira, according to Kityo.
Residents were urged to plant pine trees since they are also resistant to termites. This was done under a pilot initiative with the hope that the trees would capture water during the rainy season so that termites do not wander looking for moisture. The ants, which are biological enemies of termites, would also multiply and hunt down the termites, hence checking their numbers indirectly.
But the shortcoming of this initiative is that it did no go beyond the pilot study that was conducted in Nalukonge.
“The result of this research was supposed to feed into mitigation measures and the interventions of the district and Government,†says Kityo.
Another initiative that started two years ago has promising results.
“When we left one area where cattle had been kept without disturbance, the vegetation regenerated and there was no attack by termites,†says Dr Denis Mpairwe, a Makerere University researcher.
“The termites attacked when we kept cattle continuously on another part of the vegetation.â€
He says although further research is being conducted, this could be a breakthrough to tame the termites.
Way forward
“We should work on aspects like deforestation, farming systems and livestock-keeping,†says Kityo.
“Once we have interventions in that direction, it is possible to bail people out of the problem.â€
Termites are causing
poverty “When there is crop failure as a result of the destruction caused by termites, people turn to charcoal burning.
“This causes more distortion of the ecology,†says Kityo.
The district should mobilise charcoal burners to protect the environment.
“Residents should be trained in better ways of recovering charcoal. The district should also set aside a fund for restoring the environment,†says Kityo.
“What is happening is like mining wealth.â€
Ronald Kaggwa of the National Environment Management Authority concurs. He says the United Nations Environment Programme has helped Nakasongola make an environment management plan.
“It will help the district in the integration of environment in its plans as well as budget for environmental protection,†he says.
When this is achieved, people like Kawuma will stop asking Museveni to intervene in their problems.