Samuel Musana, the senior physical planner of Fort portal tourism city, says that they are facing a huge challenge due to the absence of a blueprint, which is supposed to guide the development of the city.
Dubbed Smart Monitoring and Reporting Tool –SMART, the technology will facilitate UWA to carry out activities like ecological monitoring, topographical mapping and detection of disaster and deforestation.
During the cleanup of River Mugunu, which snakes through Fort Portal town to River Mpanga, it was observed that there are a number of unregulated businesses along the river banks that discharge harmful waste. However, Fort Portal municipal leadership hasn’t taken any action.
According to the Fort Portal Environment Officer, Gladys Mirembe, and Planner Olivia Busobozi, UNRA didnt provide them with this report, and they also highly suspect that it was done written.
Walusansa says that the driver, who was from Fort Portal town, was driving on the wrong side of the road then failed to negotiate the corner at Njara. He blamed the accident on over speeding and reckless driving
William Chemutai, the forest restoration manager, Kibale National Park, says that more than 80 million Shillings, which was generated from the sale of the carbon will be channeled to communities neighboring the park to enable them engage in income generating activities such as bee keeping, piggery and goat rearing.
Charles Aguma, the acting sector manager Itwara Forest Reserve says that NFA will carry out an assessment on the activities of the group with a view of renewing or cancelling the agreement with the community group.
According to the United States Geological Surveys USGS, the tremors magnitude was 5.3 with a depth of 10.0 kilometres. USGS says the epicentre of the earthquake which struck at 10:02 a.m was at Kilembe in Kasese district.
Vincent Agaba, a water vendor at Kibasi water point, says he is able to monitor the water usage and avoid wastage, since the system dispenses water only when credited.
Newton Baluku, the acting Bundibugyo District Natural Resources Coordinator, says part of the funds will be used to plant more trees in areas where deforestation is rampant, train communities about the Collaborative Forest Management-CFM aimed at protecting central forest reserves in the district and facilitate department staff who will ensure that the environment laws are enforced.
Kabarole district and the Ministry of Water and Environment have embarked on boundary demarcation of wetlands in the district. The move is aimed at conserving the wetlands which are fast disappearing due to encroachment.
Environmentalists in Fort Portal are up in arms with the China Railway Seventh Group, a company which was contracted to construct the Fort Portal-Kamwenge road for tampering with the flow of River Mpanga. Huge stones have been poured in a section of the river in Fort Portal, next to Fort Portal Regional Referral hospital, to change its original flow.
Over the years, there has been an unprecedented increase in pollution and encroachment on its banks. Construction of permanent houses, car washing bays, sand mining, brick-laying and crop production activities have led to silting of the river bed.
Following the introduction of this kind of technology, there has been an increase in access to clean and safe water since the water points are repaired on time.
Chris Amanyire, the field officer NRDI says the river is running dry and losing its water color as a result of pollution. According to Amanyire, the plan involves removing eucalyptus trees and replacing them with fruit trees, sensitizing communities, regulating washing bays and demarcating the buffer zones of the river.
None of the central forest reserves in the three districts of Kabarole, Kyenjojo and Kyegegwa has been demarcated. Central forest reserves which include Itwara, Matiri, Muzizi, Kibengo and Ibambara and the Kyerenga wetland, are facing degradation due to population pressure.
Part of the strategy was to encourage women to start using energy and agro-forestry technologies to improve food security and promote natural resource management.However, communities are concerned that despite its approval, the policy was archived yet the region is grappling with a reduction in agricultural productivity and deforestation