Clean environment must be our priority
EDITOR—I have been following the debate on the mass death of hippos in Queen Elizabeth National Park due to an outbreak of anthrax. However, it is after reading the environmentally-deficient article, “Govt did not stop Ugandans from eating all kinds of meat†that I have been pushed enough to
EDITOR—I have been following the debate on the mass death of hippos in Queen Elizabeth National Park due to an outbreak of anthrax. However, it is after reading the environmentally-deficient article, “Govt did not stop Ugandans from eating all kinds of meat†that I have been pushed enough to contribute to the debate.
Anthrax is one of the many dirty water-based diseases in Uganda. The others are cholera, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, amoebic fever, bacillary dysentery, and other diarrhoeal diseases.Together, these diseases are referred to as dirty-water based environmental diseases. Because these are environmentally-based and often arise whenever the environment gets or is made dirty, they require an environmental approach if they are to be effectively dealt with.
Therefore, essentially medical or national task force approaches are inadequate. These rather reactionary approaches may seem useful in the short-term, but may in the long -term block more environmentally comprehensive approaches that take into account what is happening to our environment today—getting dirtier and dirtier!
Queen Elizabeth National Park is currently under assault through limestone mining. No doubt this is a dirty industry, which must be contributing immensely to the contamination of both water and environment in that area. It is creating the conditions for anthrax to thrive and kill its victims –currently the hippos—while threatening human survival too!
Unfortunately, globalisation and liberalisation of the economy continue to dominate all thinking and practice and hence to universalize environmental simplification, which serves dirty water-based microbes and viruses well.
My suggestion is, let us reconstruct our environment to be the gigantic hospital that has in the past had the capacity to shield us from and immunize us against all kinds of microbes and viruses. Medical and task force choices do offer relief but will not allow us to apply the environmental choice. We shall all be made to think and believe that they are the only choices that will succeed.
The environmental choice dictates that in pursuit of our diverse social and economic interests, we regard as priority number one keeping our environment clean and rejecting dirty industries as priority number two.
To succeed, however, requires committed environmental leadership by especially the politicians. Are they ready?
Oweyegha-Afunaduula
Programme Manager Sustainability School National Association of Professional Environmentalists
Anthrax is one of the many dirty water-based diseases in Uganda. The others are cholera, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, amoebic fever, bacillary dysentery, and other diarrhoeal diseases.Together, these diseases are referred to as dirty-water based environmental diseases. Because these are environmentally-based and often arise whenever the environment gets or is made dirty, they require an environmental approach if they are to be effectively dealt with.
Therefore, essentially medical or national task force approaches are inadequate. These rather reactionary approaches may seem useful in the short-term, but may in the long -term block more environmentally comprehensive approaches that take into account what is happening to our environment today—getting dirtier and dirtier!
Queen Elizabeth National Park is currently under assault through limestone mining. No doubt this is a dirty industry, which must be contributing immensely to the contamination of both water and environment in that area. It is creating the conditions for anthrax to thrive and kill its victims –currently the hippos—while threatening human survival too!
Unfortunately, globalisation and liberalisation of the economy continue to dominate all thinking and practice and hence to universalize environmental simplification, which serves dirty water-based microbes and viruses well.
My suggestion is, let us reconstruct our environment to be the gigantic hospital that has in the past had the capacity to shield us from and immunize us against all kinds of microbes and viruses. Medical and task force choices do offer relief but will not allow us to apply the environmental choice. We shall all be made to think and believe that they are the only choices that will succeed.
The environmental choice dictates that in pursuit of our diverse social and economic interests, we regard as priority number one keeping our environment clean and rejecting dirty industries as priority number two.
To succeed, however, requires committed environmental leadership by especially the politicians. Are they ready?
Oweyegha-Afunaduula
Programme Manager Sustainability School National Association of Professional Environmentalists