Continued environmental degradation eats up Fort Portal City wetlands

Fort Portal: Fort Portal city in Western Uganda is experiencing environmental degradation from a number of sources including human activities, plastic pollution and poor sanitation.

According to the study by Aid environment, commissioned by join for water in collaboration with fort Portal city, wetland cover reduced from 537.4 hectares to 273.7 hectares.

The study shows that about 50.9 percent of Fort Portal city’s total wetland area has been degraded due to human activities.

The degradation of wetlands has contributed to the unpredicted weather patterns making it difficult for farmers to plan for planting and harvesting seasons.

This has worsened the effects of climate change in the area. During the dry season, the water volumes reduce especially in River Mpanga causing water scarcity.

Encroaching on River Mpanga has worsened the situation where most of the river banks are encroached on causing shortage of water during the dry season and flooding during the rainy season.

Despite continued warnings by the city authorities, encroachers have given it a deaf ear.

According to the Fort Portal city senior environment officer, Gladys Mirembe Natugonza,a case in point is  degradation of the banks of river Mpanga near National Water and sewerage cooperation Fort Portal offices which has continued to create havoc to city authorities despite several warnings given to the developer.

Natugonda said the developer Abassi Balinda has continued to encroach and degrade the protected zone of Mpanga River in central division, Fort Portal city where NWSC directly tap water.

“I carried an inspection in June last year together with my colleagues, the senior planner, the senior land management officer and the law enforcement officer and we found out that Balinda has continued to clear and degrade a wetland and Mpanga river banks in Kabundaire area near NWSC pipe, in an illegal manner by dumping soil in the wetland” Natugonza said.

She said despite the verbal warnings by the inspection team, the RCC’s office and the written notice given to him ordering him to stop illegality until he gets clearance and approvals from relevant authorities, Balinda has completely refused and continued degrading the river banks.

She said Balinda has continued to instruct his people to dump soil and started spreading it in the wetland with an intention of creating a plot on that site and some development construction on going.

The Fort city town clerk Richard Mugisha said the city is facing a challenge of big wigs who have decide to fill wetlands and river banks with soil creating plots and developing in the river banks.

He said as a city, they have stopped them and served them with environment improvement notices but they have deliberately and stubbornly refused to comply instead have continued degrading the environment with impunity.

“The police in Fort Portal is not helping us to arrest these people because some are political serving cadres, yet the city enforcement cannot manage alone. Also a team from NEMA head and regional offices came on ground on the same issues in August last year but no action has been taken” Mugisha said.

The deputy Fort Portal Resident City commissioner central division, Emmanuel Businge said as the office of the RCC, they are concerned by the  various reports of the environmental degradation in the city and have taken an initiative to compile reports in that regard.

He said the concerns have been forwarded to NEMA as a lead agency in terms of environmental protection.

“It is very unfortunate that NEMA has not taken it as a matter of urgency to come and back us up in the city. Ultimately, people continue to degrade and we have continued to reach out to those areas of degradation, have continued to sensitize the people about issues to do with environmental protection visa vi the dangers of degradation” Businge said.

He called upon NEMA to give Fort Portal city a priority because it is taken as a hotspot given the magnitude in Fort Portal as a city.

He said as a lead agency and given the fact that NEMA has regional offices in Hoima, to join the city authorities in ensuring that they protect the environment.

“We have tried our best as a city and we continue to try to see that the laws regarding the environment are followed and we also have presidential directives. there are cases where NEMA has issued certificates so the common person may see area for example a wetland being developed but when you go and ask for documentation, some owners of those pieces of land have always availed us with documentations to the effects that they are allowed to use those specific pieces of land” he noted.

On his part, the mayor Fort Portal city Edison Ruyonga Asaba criticized the central government for failing to provide sufficient funds to support wetland conservation efforts.

He also accused government agencies like NEMA of issuing permits that allow activities to be carried in wetlands.

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