Uganda is likely to lose all its wetlands by 2040 going by the current rate of wetland degradation continues, a report from the Ministry of Water and Environment has revealed.
The details are contained in a statement set to be tabled before Parliament by Beatrice Anywar (pictured), State Minister for Environment in response to a directive by Parliament to Government to present a National Action Plan to Wetland Management outlining the comprehensive status of wetlands, their location and list of cancelled titles in wetlands.
According to Government, Forty six percent (46%) of wetlands in Eastern Uganda have been degraded in the last 25 years while Northern Uganda registered the lowest degraded area of 2l%. Degradation levels in the central and western regions stood at 29% and 28% respectively.
Wetland degradation has been blamed majorly on expansion of subsistence agriculture, industrial developments and settlements.
“In terms of district, Mbale district has the most degraded wetlands in Uganda with 99% of its wetlands under threat while Ntoroko had the lowest with most of its intact wetland at 98%. If the rampant degradation is not halted, the country is likely to have all its wetlands degraded by 2040 and you know the implication of this to the nation,” the statement reads.
The report further noted that wetland cover in Uganda has reduced tremendously.
For instance, in 1994, the wetland coverage was 15.5% of Uganda’s land cover but by 2016, wetland coverage had reduced to only 8.9% and it is projected to be only 8.4%by 2019.
Government noted that the rate of loss and degradation of wetlands is accelerating in all regions of the country and not matching up with wetland restoration targets and resources.
“If this trend is not reversed by the deliberate and dedicated restoration programs countrywide, we shall be left with only 1.6% by 2040 which is unacceptable,” Anywar warns.
The statement further revealed that at the moment, wetlands provide incomes and employment for over 4.4mi11ion Ugandans in both the formal and informal sectors and it is also estimated that approximately 5 million people in rural areas get their daily fresh water supply from wetlands and economic values estimated at US$25 million per year.
“However these natural resources have come under a lot of pressure due to the increasing human population and weak enforcement of the laws on Wetlands. This has caused serious consequences including prolonged droughts and drying up of water sources as a result of the degradation of catchment areas,” the statement further reads.
On the status of cancellation of land titles in wetlands, the Ministry revealed that a total of 298 titles have so far been cancelled by the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, in wetland in Wakiso, Kampala and Mukono and that cancellation is now being extended to cover the entire country.
Minister Anywar however blamed the slow pace of wetland conservation on inadequate funding especially to Local Governments who are the custodians of the wetlands, yet these entities are severely underfunded
She also blamed the slow pace on the Land tenure and contradicting policies, saying these have made it difficult to protect and conserve wetlands on Mailo land or private land and called for provision of appropriate incentives to communities.
