Fighting for Kampala’s wetlands could be a lost cause

Feb 03, 2008

WHEN ambassador Matthias Lubega retired, he did not know that some Government officials should never be taken at their word. He got this rude shock when he attempted to save Nyanama, one of Kampala’s wetlands located on Entebbe Road.<br>

By Gerald Tenywa

WHEN ambassador Matthias Lubega retired, he did not know that some Government officials should never be taken at their word. He got this rude shock when he attempted to save Nyanama, one of Kampala’s wetlands located on Entebbe Road.

One of the officers who disappointed him was Maria Mutagamba; the environment minister. Despite her assurance that the encroachers would be flushed from the swamp, soil is still being dumped there to create space for buildings three months
after that meeting.

Lubega says destruction of Nyanama started six years ago and buildings are replacing the vegetation in the valley. The area’s quiet that was only disturbed by frogs calling out their mates is now suffering noise from construction of buildings in the wetland.

As a diplomat, Lubega sat on a UN committee on the environment and that is why he is passionate about the wetland. He points out that effort to save the wetland started as soon as destruction started.

“I went with the LCs to attract their attention to a house being built in the wetland. I asked the wetland officer to provide signposts indicating that no construction of houses or dumping of waste was allowed in the wetland.”

According to Lubega, he promised to intervene, but no action was taken as the
house is now complete. The same wetland also suffers dumping of waste, which was brought to the attention of the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA).

The team also pointed out that the reclamation of wetlands in Ndeeba, adjacent to Nyanama, was almost complete. This destruction has been repeated at Lufuka swamp where floods blocked the convoy of President Yoweri Museveni late last year.

“If NEMA cannot take action about illegal activities under its nose, how can it protect the environment across the country,” Lubega says. NEMA’s response “We gave the encroachers restoration orders, but they have ignored them,” says NEMA’s deputy head Gerald Musoke.

He adds there is a lot of influence peddling, which NEMA intends to address by creating a law enforcement unit similar to the ones of the National Forestry Authority and the Uganda Wildlife Authority to police wetlands. He says this could be a reality later this year if the re-structuring of NEMA gets a green light.

After NEMA failed to address his concerns, Lubega contacted Mutagamba to save the swamps. “I am certain that with your intervention, NEMA will have to take the necessary action to save this wetland,” stated Lubega in a letter of November 5, 2007.

This appeal remains unanswered yet Mutagamba met Lubega and assured him that action would be taken. Why the concern about wetlands? Kampala’s wetlands are multi-purpose. They are sponges that hold a lot of water and release it slowly to Lake Victoria preventing floods.

They also filter the dirty water that would have entered the lake. But all this is being disregarded by the encroachers, according to NEMA’s Musoke. Elsewhere, wetlands that were called by local names as a way of appreciating their importance such as Lugogo (water gutter) located between Kololo and Naguru hill is almost reclaimed by developers.

Kitante (a stream that drowns cattle) is also under pressure with the Golf Course buildings. Why wetlands The colonial masters often stated that wetlands are wastelands that should be
reclaimed. “Many people still have this colonial hangover because they are still pushing for reclamation of swamps,” says George Lubega, an aquatic biological diversity specialist under NEMA.

Collins Oloya, the acting wetlands commissioner, also blames lack of planning since low income earners, unable to settle in the well-drained areas, rush to the swamps where land is cheap. “This is the reason behind the sprawling slums,” he says.

He also points out that local governments have not embraced wetlands management and are instead leasing them. Oloya gave the examples of Kinawataka, Nakivubo and Kansanga, which are supposed to be gazetted as wetlands as areas where Kampala City Council has given leases to build houses.

Another issue is political. “People living in reclaimed swamps keep on asking especially during political campaigns. Politicians keen on gaining cheap popularity support these people telling environmental bodies to ‘leave our voters’.”

Steering Uganda out of this mess requires strong leadership. But at the moment, Lubega does not mince his words. “Hopes of saving Kampala’s wetlands are gone and even the few patches of the remaining wetlands will be history before this decade concludes.”

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