Government has said that they are taking the issue of improving environment by introducing irrigation as a priority.
Mr Ronald Kibuule, the state minister for environment said that that government has embarked on irrigation and setting up of catchment areas through artificial forestry to conserve Uganda’s diminishing forests.
“We want to encourage people to grow trees and add on the number of forests we have. We shall use irrigation and out of that we shall manage to get back what we lost,” Mr Kibuule said.
Last year, NTV covered a story indicating that the biggest part of Mabira forest had been encroached on for charcoal and timber activities.
National Forest Authority was there after tasked to do a forest survey where it was found that the enclaves on the forest are expanding, which could have been the main cause of the extinction of the forest.
The government vowed to buy off all the villages in the forest to restore the forest.
Mr Kibuule said they would come up with a way to resettle the people in the forests but this would happen as and when the country gets money.
“We are currently having a problem with money. When we get the money we shall resettle those people and see where to take them,” Mr Kibuule said.
Mr Levi Etwodu, the NFA the director natural forests management, said acquiring the 2700 hectares of land currently occupied by the residents will make forestry management easier. There are 16 villages in Mabira who legally own land in the over 300 square kilometres forest since it was gazette in the1930s.
“We are already budgeting to make sure we restore part of Mabira Forest which is currently being occupied by a number of villagers. Most of these villages a population increase and this means when they outgrow their current space, they will soon start encroaching on the forest land,” Mr Etwodu said at a public dialogue last week.
