Minister Justine Kasule Lumumba (in glasses) with other guests inspecting exhibitions from entrepreneurs and artists in Gulu City on Friday February 2, 2024. Photos Sintes Raymond Obwona and Simon Wokorach
By Simon Wokorach & Brian Komakech
Gulu: The government of Uganda, through the Ministry of Water and Environment, has resumed the demarcation of wetland boundaries across the country to restore degraded wetlands.
The exercise comes amid continued encroachment and degradation of the available wetland covers owing to population pressure and human activities.
On Friday, two major wetlands; Pece Stream and Oitino in Bardege-Layibi and Pece Laroo divisions in Gulu City, were demarcated, as part of the measures by the government to restore their boundaries.
The exercise was officiated by the Minister for General Duties, Justine Kasule Lumumba, as the country celebrated the World Wetlands Day at Kaunda Ground in Gulu City.
The government targets to demarcate 5,000 kms of wetland boundaries across the country by 2025. A cumulative 2,096.4 Kms have already been demarcated.
President Museveni, in a written message presented by Lumumba, urged the implementing agencies and the local governments to protect the wetlands from destruction.
Without issuing the timeframe of the planned demarcation, Kasule noted that the exercise would start with sensitization of the affected communities.
“The President is aware that we have communities who have taken themselves into the wetlands, and he will want this exercise done very carefully,” said Lumumba.
David Okurut, the Commissioner Wetlands Management Department at the Ministry of Environment, noted that whereas the country has witnessed an invasion of the wetlands, a significant section has been restored.
Okurut revealed that wetland product-based livelihoods, such as fish, medicinal plants, fruits, and craft materials, contribute up to Shs3.5 trillion to Uganda’s Gross Domestic Product.
“We want to thank Gulu City for standing strong in protecting its wetlands and we want to turn this City into a model City where people can learn from for sustainable use of wetlands,” he observed.
Minister of State for Environment, Beatrice Anywar, in a statement read by the State Minister for Water, Aisha Sekindi, noted that 8,613 wetlands have so far been gazetted.
Anywar says the gazettement of the wetland is clear evidence that the government is committed to restoring the degraded wetlands.
“Government efforts in the last ten years have been to reclaim the degraded wetland through wetland restoration and demarcation initiatives, massive public awareness, and the creation of Environmental Protection police,” said Anywar.
Anywar, however, acknowledged that the country lost a vast cover of the wetland in the past years due to the growing population and demand for land.
Statistics from the Ministry of Environment reveal that while Wetland coverage was estimated at 15.6 percent (37,000 sq. km) of the country’s total surface area by 1995, by the year 2015, 8.4 percent (20,000 sq km) wetland surface coverage was lost.
Restoration in progress
Stephen David Mugabi, the Director Environment Affairs at the Ministry of Environment, revealed that there has been significant progress in restoring degraded wetlands over the years.
Mugabi said that wetland coverage had increased to 9.3 percent from 8.9 percent in 2020, adding that they have also cumulatively restored 35,000 hectares of wetland, translating to 352 sq. km of wetlands.
He noted that besides protecting the wetlands, the government has demarcated 2,100 km of wetland boundaries.
National Wetland Gazette launched
At the same event, the government launched the first national gazette for wetlands. The national gazette contains detailed lists of primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary wetlands countrywide, including their names, locations, and maps.
According to Mugabi, the gazette will act as an instrument that will help the government to inform the public of the location of every wetland.
“This instrument is meant to help the government to tell the public where every wetland is located. So we are no longer in that era where they have been asking us where the wetland boundary is, and we keep quiet,” said Mugabi.
Gulu Resident City Commissioner, Jane Frances Okili, pledged to continue protecting the existing wetlands within the city to prevent floods and water scarcity.
Okili, however, asked the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and Environmental Protection Police to work harder to protect the environment and penalize perpetrators of environmental injustice.
Status of wetlands in Gulu City
Amidst encroachment with illegal settlements and other human activities within the wetlands in Gulu City, authorities have protected a considerable section from degradation.
Out of the total 1,836.4 hectares of wetlands coverage in the city, 685.2 hectares (37.3 percent) are degraded, and 1151.2 hectares (62.7 percent) are intact.
The entire Pece wetland system covers 1,027 hectares (55.9 percent) of the total surface wetland area of Gulu City. The wetland traverses through the wards of Tegwana, Labwoc, Acoyo, Lagara, Lapainat West, Ibakara, Pece Prison, and Vanguard. Meanwhile, the Oyitino wetland system only covers 272 hectares and drains into the Unyama wetland system.
