Local authorities say that most of the NGOs are not following the unique weather pattern with most of them supplying their tree seedlings either too early or later and most times during the dry season.
Rose Lanyero, the Apaa Township Women Leader has said that the community are living in fear and need security boosted. She notes that the manpower on ground is thin since the area is vast.
Godfrey Opwonya Benson, the Apaa Township Defense Secretary told URN on Sunday that the operation followed a tipoff from the community about the strange activities taking place in the reserve.
Both NFA and UWA say that the market is located in the protected areas of Zoka Central Forest Reserve and the East Madi Wildlife Reserve and argue that it is threatening the two natural resources.
Jesus Iringa, the Itirikwa Sub County Chairperson says that they have tried to drive the encroachers and illegal dealers away from the forest but they are resistant and seem to be having backup of top government officials.
They are using power saws to indiscriminately and have extensively cut trees down from the stems regardless of their sizes or being among the endangered species which include Shea nuts, Afzelia Africana, Mvule and mahogany.
Speaking to URN in an interview, Atine said that he had learnt with shock that Ojambo had illegally disposed of the timber prompting him to file a formal complaint with Adjumani Resident State Attorney.
The suspects were picked up in an operation led by Xavier Sekanabo, the Commander of the Environmental Police Protection Unit on Saturday evening. The officers braved the rain and stormed the camp in Apaa Junction in Adjumani leading to the arrest of the suspects.
Moses Onencan, a boda boda cyclist who traverses the road on a daily basis told URN that apart from health hazards, the dust has equally caused several minor and serious road accidents among the road users.
Early this month River Tete burst its banks and displaced residents in the two parishes of Arasi and Elegu, Arinyapi sub-county in Adjumani district. The floods destroyed food crops that were ready for harvest, carried away heads of cattle and submerged several grass-thatched houses.
According to James Leku, the Adjumani LCV Chairperson, the floods destroyed more than 300 houses, killed more than 3000 livestock and poultry and 3,000 acres of garden crops.
James Leku, the Adjumani District LC V Chairperson told URN on Wednesday morning that the flooding was triggered by heavy rains that started on Monday evening and went on until Tuesday morning.
According to Gen. Ali, the degradation witnessed in Zoka forest and East Madi Wild Life Reserve is similar to what is happening in other parts of the country. “
The Deputy Premier told URN that the EU delegates are in the district to assess the magnitude of damage at Zoka Forest Central Reserve which is among Uganda`s largest tropical rain forest measuring about 1,259 hectares, in the South of Adjumani district.
Deputy Prime Minister General Moses Ali, the National Forestry Authority (NFA), Adjumani district leaders have been alarmed by the United Nations' move to remove over three square miles (2000 acres) of natural forest and create a commercial farm for refugees in northern Uganda.
Our reporter saw many other charcoal camps scattered across the area. The illegal dealers told URN on Wednesday that they are from Eastern and Central Uganda and are buying each tree from the residents at Shillings 8,000 to burn for charcoal.
The performer drew inspirations from his country’s horrific experience of World War II when the United States detonated two nuclear weapons, 600 meters above Hiroshima and Nagasaki cities on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The explosions wiped out 90 per cent of the cities and instantly killed 80,000 people. Others, in tens of thousands, died of radiation exposure years later.
The residents claim the area was gazetted into a game reserve while they were in Internally Displaced Camps during the rebel Lord`s Resistance Army-LRA insurgency.
