Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Uganda keen on environment matters have urged government to empower the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and district environment offices to enforce the law and supervise sensitive ecosystems against encroachers, including the rich and powerful.
During the meeting, delegates noted that NEMA and the district environment offices across the country are too weak to enforce laws and policies, saying they lack both sufficient human resource and financial capacity to supervise and enforce laws and policies. “Without effective supervision by these institutions, the Government of Uganda and UNDP project aimed at restoring sensitive ecosystems will not achieve its intended objectives,” they said.
In Friday’s communiqué to the media, they said the US$44.6 million project, under the Green Climate Fund, aimed at restoring degraded wetland ecosystems among others, the CSOs argued that the project could register little success unless government enacts the reviewed National Environment Management Policy, National Environment Bill in addition to the reviewed EIA and SEA regulations.
Samuel Okulony, AFIEGO’s Programmes and Research Coordinator, said there is need for governments that are signatory to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to review their Nationally Determined Commitments (NDC) in the fight against climate change in addition to the recognition and adoption of the Gender Action Plan (GAP) that will help to integrate gender considerations into climate change efforts.
The CSOs, eight in number, also want government to pursue a pro-people inclusive approach in which the public is sensitised and endorses protection of sensitive ecosystems.
The members said that without strong environmental laws in place, restoration of degraded wetlands will yield no value as there will be no safeguards and strong laws stopping the degradation of all sensitive ecosystems during development of massive infrastructure for the oil and other sectors.
They further noted that critical ecosystems such as River Kagera, River Nile, Lake Victoria, Murchison Falls National Park and others were endangered by oil activities. “Threats to one ecosystem endangers others, necessitating the protection of all ecosystems through strong laws, among other interventions,” they said.
They noted that big patches of wetlands sitting around Lakes Victoria and Kyoga have been degraded over the years due to weak environmental laws and weak enforcement. “This has led to siltation of River Nile and Uganda’s biggest lakes, among others,” they said.
In addition, they want government to avoid amendment of Article 26 of the Constitution and instead adopt international land acquisition practices to prevent poor and landless Ugandans from resettling in sensitive ecosystems including wetlands.
