Mayiga was today speaking at an event at Bulange-Mengo where he unveiled the Kingdom Board for Environment Conservation. At the same event, the Kingdom entered into a partnership with Climate Action Network- a network for environmental non-governmental organizations and World Wide Fund for Nature Uganda. The partnerships are envisaged to promote environmental conservation.
Buganda Kingdom has called for the integration of
the national plans to ensure that protection of the environment is considered
alongside different strategies.
“How have we planned for the growing number of
youthful people who need work and money?" the Katikkiro of Buganda Charles Peter Mayiga has asked. "The National plans need to be integrated; if
you are talking about the economy, you must also talk about the environment."
Mayiga was today speaking at an event at
Bulange-Mengo where he unveiled the Kingdom Board for Environment Conservation. At
the same event, the Kingdom entered into a partnership with Climate Action
Network- a network for environmental non-governmental organizations and World Wide
Fund for Nature Uganda. The partnerships are envisaged to promote environmental
conservation.
The Katikkiro said that the encroachment on forest
cover and water bodies is a matter of great concern to the Kingdom since these harbor
many Buganda Kingdom totems that are key to heritage.
//Cue in: “what economic activities…
Cue out:…the coming generations.”//
Uganda has 506 central forest reserves managed by
the National Forestry Authority (NFA) which represents 15 percent of total
forest cover.
The remaining 85 percent forest cover is managed by
Local Governments, individuals and different institutions. However, red flags
have been raised severally over the illegal issuance of land titles in forests,
charcoal burning, illegal logging and other activities that pose threat to the
forest cover.
Mayiga says that the biggest percentage of what
constitutes the Kingdom of Buganda is made up of water, forests, wild animal habitats
and that their worry is that Ugandans have increasingly encroached on this natural
world.
“We have lost wild animals; we are losing water
resources and forests and I understand the new number of zoonotic diseases
originating from animals and transmitted to people has increased
drastically over the last century," he said. "And the climate hazards are very obvious,
every now and then we get landslides especially in Bugisu, the Rwenzori areas
and other places.”
He said that besides landslides, floods and drought
are equally experienced even in parts of Buganda in the areas of Mawogola and Gomba. Mayiga says that the dry spells were not witnessed in the past.
//Cue in: “we need to…
Cue out:…hundreds of years.”//
The Katikkiro says that it needs to be a government
policy for every homestead to practice animal husbandry as a way of protecting
forests and wetlands.
He explained that having cows, pigs or chicken can
help homesteads use waste to nourish the soils so that they yield sufficient
quantities of food which would possibly prevent people from encroaching on
environment and forests.
“And of course we produce a lot of kids," Mayiga added. There shouldn’t be a big problem for a big
population if we planned for the increasing number of people. What are they
going to feed on?”
.
He also noted the dangers of pollution especially by
plastics that are seen in different parts of the country clogging streams.
Mayiga says that this situation is worrying and needs a collective response.
Mayiga revealed that the new Kingdom partnership
with World Wide Fund for Nature will help them recover nature through different
initiatives to be created within the Kingdom and Uganda.
He said that the Kingdom is going to initiate a
campaign in all schools within Buganda for them to institute ‘Kaveera’ check
points to ensure that these are not littered as a way of ensuring a clean and
safe environment.The Katikkiro further explains that this campaign is to help youngsters
learn how to deal with plastics.
Mayiga also called upon every household in Buganda
to plant a lemon or citrus tree saying that these will contribute to their good
health, income and nature recovery. He called upon government to step-up
conservation of the remaining forests and water bodies and also prevail over
people who build industries and factories in the wetlands.
//Cue in: “I don’t know…
Cue out:…MOUs are fulfilled.”//
Proscovia Nanyonjo Vikman, the Chairperson of the Kingdom
Board for Environment Conservation said that one of the areas that have been
having crisis from climate change and environmental degradation has been Buganda.
“But we have not been negotiating. We were putting
our hands up even when Lwera was going but with this board, I think we have a
voice,” said Nanyonjo.
She pledged that with a technical team with whom she
is going to serve, Buganda can have a stage at the international and national
level when it comes to climate change, environmental protection and
conservation.
