Mugwanya said encroachment on wetlands and riverbanks had contributed to environmental degradation, loss of fish habitats and worsening climate-related effects.
The Government has embarked on a five-year, sh186bn project to demarcate and protect the 100-metre buffer zone along the River Nile from Kayunga District to the Uganda-South Sudan border.
The project, being implemented by the Ministry of Water and Environment, was launched in Busaana sub-county in Kayunga district on Thursday with residents joining government officials to plant boundary pillars along the riverbanks.
According to Betty Mbolanyi, the Principal Environment Officer at the Ministry of Water and Environment, the project is part of the Government’s efforts to conserve and restore fragile ecosystems along the Nile and implement the Kalagala and Itanda Sustainable Management Plan.
Mbolanyi said the project is being implemented over five years, covering the financial years 2025/26 to 2030/31, and is intended to protect the river and its catchments while improving the livelihoods of communities dependent on the ecosystems.
She said the project seeks to conserve, restore, protect and sustainably manage 14,455 hectares of terrestrial ecosystems and 1,256 hectares of aquatic ecosystems within the Kalagala-Itanda Special Conservation Area (KIFSCA) and downstream of Isimba Dam.
“The project will also seek to restore the livelihoods of 1,712 affected persons and 20 institutions within the conservation area, while strengthening the capacity of implementing agencies involved in the programme,” she said.
According to the Ministry of Water and Environment, one of the major components of the project is the restoration and protection of 12,741 hectares of fragile ecosystems, covering about 2,400 kilometres within the 100-metre buffer zone of the River Nile.
Mbolanyi said the Government also plans to restore, protect and manage 5,714 hectares of degraded sections of forest reserves along the Nile and 1,256 hectares of degraded fisheries and aquatic habitats.
While introducing the project to residents of Lusenke Village in Busaana, Mbolanyi said it also provides for the establishment of two regional museums and training centres aimed at promoting tourism, increasing local revenue and creating alternative livelihood opportunities for communities in the KIFSCA.
“At least 80 Parish Development Enterprises will also be established to incentivise communities to participate in environmental conservation along the Nile and within the conservation area,” she said, adding;
“The demarcation exercise in Kayunga follows similar activities carried out in Buikwe, Jinja and Kamuli, while other teams are conducting related operations in northern Uganda.”
Dan Wabomba, the Galiraaya sub-county chief, said after planting the demarcation pillars, the ministry would embark on planting bamboo within 30 metres of the riverbanks to control erosion, reduce siltation, protect fish breeding grounds and improve the productivity of the Nile catchment.
Wabomba said a similar project was implemented during the first phase in Kangulumira sub-county, Kayunga district more than four years ago.
Kayunga Resident District Commissioner, Jimmy Nsimbi Mugwanya urged residents to protect the pillars and support the conservation programme.
Mugwanya said encroachment on wetlands and riverbanks had contributed to environmental degradation, loss of fish habitats and worsening climate-related effects.
He, however, warned residents against uprooting the demarcation pillars, saying the land within the protected zone belongs to the Government, although residents would continue using it for approved activities.
He encouraged residents in neighbouring villages to join the campaign and safeguard the demarcated buffer zones.
Busaana sub-county chairperson Francis Jibi said community sensitisation had helped address fears among residents that the demarcation exercise was intended to take away their land.
(Photo by Henry Nsubuga)
Jibi said residents were increasingly embracing alternative sources of income, including fish farming and programmes under the Parish Development Model, to reduce dependence on activities that degrade riverbanks.
“Through the sensitisation workshops organised by Ministry officials for leaders, we have been told that project-affected persons are going to be boosted with start-up capital in the form of Parish Development Model funds, which will help them establish alternative sources of livelihoods. We welcomed that initiative,” he noted.
Lusenke Village chairperson James Bogere, said the community was ready to participate in protecting the river and its surrounding ecosystems.
The project is being implemented in fulfilment of commitments made by the Government of Uganda under the Amended Indemnity Agreement with the World Bank for the implementation of the Kalagala and Itanda Sustainable Management Plan.