NEMA must walk the talk on wetlands
Dec 28, 2010
THE National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) intends to begin a four-month operation with its enforcement wing in Kampala starting in January.
THE National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) intends to begin a four-month operation with its enforcement wing in Kampala starting in January.
This is great news because Kampala bears testimony to the worst instances of environment abuse by rich, powerful and well-connected investors.
It is reassuring that the NEMA executive director, Dr. Aryamanya Mugisha, has vowed that gone are the days of impunity.
NEMA’s challenge is now to walk the talk and not to apply the law selectively. What happened to Godfrey Nyakaana should apply to everybody else who flouts the law.
The law should not only bite in Kampala but throughout the country. According to NEMA, at least 18% of the wetland area in the city has been lost to human activity. This has dire consequences not only to us today but to future generations.
If the wanton destruction of our environment is not halted now, posterity will hold us accountable because it has happened under our watch.
Ugandans must be sensitised about the invaluable role of wetlands. Apart from protecting Lake Victoria from pollution and siltation, they act as breeding ground for fish and avert floods by absorbing the storm water and regulating its flow into large water bodies.
Many wetlands have disappeared and it is impossible to assess the consequences of such a loss. Some of the results are already at our doorstep in the form of floods and unusually high temperatures.
NEMA has its role cut out clearly. With vehicles and security, there should be no excuse why it cannot perform diligently. The exercise will require NEMA to work day and night because it is common for environment abusers to fill out wetlands in the dead of night. Good speed, January is a round the corner.
This is great news because Kampala bears testimony to the worst instances of environment abuse by rich, powerful and well-connected investors.
It is reassuring that the NEMA executive director, Dr. Aryamanya Mugisha, has vowed that gone are the days of impunity.
NEMA’s challenge is now to walk the talk and not to apply the law selectively. What happened to Godfrey Nyakaana should apply to everybody else who flouts the law.
The law should not only bite in Kampala but throughout the country. According to NEMA, at least 18% of the wetland area in the city has been lost to human activity. This has dire consequences not only to us today but to future generations.
If the wanton destruction of our environment is not halted now, posterity will hold us accountable because it has happened under our watch.
Ugandans must be sensitised about the invaluable role of wetlands. Apart from protecting Lake Victoria from pollution and siltation, they act as breeding ground for fish and avert floods by absorbing the storm water and regulating its flow into large water bodies.
Many wetlands have disappeared and it is impossible to assess the consequences of such a loss. Some of the results are already at our doorstep in the form of floods and unusually high temperatures.
NEMA has its role cut out clearly. With vehicles and security, there should be no excuse why it cannot perform diligently. The exercise will require NEMA to work day and night because it is common for environment abusers to fill out wetlands in the dead of night. Good speed, January is a round the corner.