By Businge Emmanuel DRCC,Fort Portal
During the last general election campaigns, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni pledged to secure the future of Ugandans. That promise carries a strong commitment that includes the urgent need to protect and conserve the environment.
Indeed, the President has not betrayed Ugandans in that regard. He has issued a number of directives to strengthen existing environmental laws. It should be noted that there must be a delicate balance between economic growth and development, and the need to preserve Mother Nature. In many cases, Ugandans tend to justify environmental degradation by erecting buildings and other developments in conservation areas, making compliance a challenge. To overcome such perceptions, people should reflect on the suffering caused when Mother Nature retaliates without discrimination.
With the start of the rainy season, we have already tasted the bitter consequences of our past mistakes. Climate change, along with subsequent flooding, landslides, and droughts, has had far-reaching effects, causing distortions and disruptions in many aspects of life.
In the mountainous districts of the Rwenzori and Elgon regions, severe landslides have led to human deaths and displacement, with devastating consequences. In urban centers like Kampala, Fort Portal City, and others, traffic disruptions, property destruction, and affected livelihoods occur due to periodic rains. This alone speaks volumes about what we should expect at the peak of the rainy season. What about the loss of animals due to prolonged droughts in cattle corridor districts like Ntoroko? Are these not grave enough consequences to remind us of our obligation to protect the environment?
Article 39 of the 1995 Constitution provides for the right to a clean and safe environment rights that come with responsibilities and obligations. Citizens, therefore, must play their part by ensuring they do not pollute or degrade the environment. Why would waste management be such a serious issue if citizens were disciplined enough not to litter? Why would a developer choose to invest in a wetland?
Local councils should also prioritize waste management by setting up proper disposal points and investing in waste recycling. With the growing energy demands in urban centers, waste can be recycled into briquettes used for cooking. This investment would not only help solve energy challenges but also conserve the environment.
Environmental conservation and protection can also help prevent conflicts where community members shift blame in the wake of disasters. In Fort Portal, for example, a whole community turned against a developer who had filled a wetland with soil, causing severe damage to a nearby school and prompting a security intervention.
Lastly, NEMA, as the lead agency in environmental matters, should expand its operations to other parts of the country to reinforce the efforts of other offices and departments such as the RDCs and Local Governments. With coordinated interventions, the President’s vision to preserve the environment will be realized not just for his sake, but for generations to come.