Thursday 12 March 2020

Develop strong Natural Resources managment strategy, Development partners asks Uganda


BY SAMUEL NABWIISO
Development partners are urging Uganda to come up with a comprehensive integrated forests resources management approach and access to clean energy targeting refugees and the hosting districts across the country.
The partner's from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Bank notes that due to the influx of refugees in Uganda from her Neighboring Countries such as South Sudan Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi into  Uganda is fueling the depletion of Country's natural resources such as forests especially in the refugees hosting districts particularly in West Nile, western and south western parts of the country.
some of the Forest that have been cut down due to the influx of Refugees in some parts of the settlement areas


Speaking during the Launch of two reports that were conducted to assess the natural Resources degradation in refugees impacted areas  in Northern Uganda and the assessment report on forests resources Degradation and interventions Options in Refugees, Hosting areas of Western and Southwestern Uganda, the FAO  Country Representative in Uganda' Antonio Querido,noted that Uganda is losing forests cover at a higher rates especially in the refugees hosting region's thus the need to act so that the depleted natural resources are restored.

"Planning and achieving sustainable forest's and land management in the refugees hosting areas  is crucial to avoid the detrimental environmental Impacts that may occurs due to the biodiversity destruction “He said during the launch of the reports at the protea Hotel in Kampala Recently.

According to Querido, government should implement interventions such as A- forestation, Reforestation and also establish markets oriented multipurpose wood lots that can support sustainable supply's of wood fuel, timbers, building materials and other non wood forest's products.

"As development partners we hope that if such interventions are well implemented by the various Government agencies it can mitigates the detrimental environmental Impacts such as soil erosion, out Blake of diseases, floods that may occurs due the depletion of the biodiversity in the refugees hosting districts and communities across Uganda “He added.
The FAO  Country Representative in Uganda Antonio Querido speaking during the Launch of the Reports


The coverage of the Study, the study was carried out in Western and south Western Uganda alongside Northern Uganda targeting West Nile sub region in Western Uganda, the study was carried out in six settlement areas, namely Kyaka11 in Kyegegwa District, Kyangwali in Kikube District,Rwamwanja in Kamwenge district,alongside other settlements such as Kiryandongo in Kiryandongo district and lastly the Oruchinga settlement in Isingiro District.

From the study it was found that majority of the refugees in the various settlements were depending on biomasses as the primary sources of energy and this has fuelled the highest rate of forest cover and other related biodiversity depletion in the refugees hosting districts and communities in the surveyed areas.

In the study for instance in Kyangwali settlement 75.5,% of the refugees were depending on fire wood while in Kyaka11 settlement charcoal was the major source of energy, and even where the charcoal has been adopted as the major sources of energy, refugees were using traditional Charcoal stove's that are not energy efficient which ends up exposing them to diseases related to the inhalation of smokes.

In the report, the various Governments agencies such as the ministry of Energy, Environment and the office of the Prime Minister were cautioned to promote the usage of improved charcoal stove's especially among the refugees and the hosting communities this can help them to optimize the usage of biomass fuel effectively.

"There's a desire to optimize fuel consumption through the usage of more efficient and modern cooking stoves available on the market.inspite of this several households and refugees are not migrating to improved one's because of the poor flow of information related to the availability of the modern Energy , efficient cooking stoves on the market “Reads part of the Report.

Key findings in the study on the Biodiversity destruction in the refugees settlements and the hosting communities, in the Report, it’s reportedly that in South and South Western Uganda Refugees settlement areas, the study indicates that between 2001 and 2018 total tree covers losses in Kyaka11 and Kyangwali settlements were near 10% as high in both the 5 kilometers and 15 kilometers away buffer zones from the refugees settlement boundaries.

In Kiryandongo settlement areas the areas according to the study recorded a 73% nature forests cover losses between 2001 and 2018 due to the arrival of refugees in the settlement arae.
The magnitude of Refugees in Uganda, according to the information available from the office of the Prime Minister, currently Uganda is hosting about 1.3 million refugees most of them are living in Northern Uganda; Western parts of the Country, such population have exerted pressure on the country’s natural resources.

In the report it's revealed that the total wood demands for cooking in the Northern Refugees settlement camps stood at 345,000 metric tons per year in the 14 Refugees settlement camps Inthe District’s of Arua ,Yumbe,Moyo, Adjuman and Lamwo and in the south and Western Uganda Refugees settlement camps the demands for wood fuel is at 475,000 metric tons of wood fuel.

Commenting on the report, the World Bank country manager in Uganda.TonyThompson challenged the Government of Uganda to implement programs that can address the issues highlighted in the report, urging that this will help Uganda to over comes Environmental related catastrophist such as Climate change, Land degradation's.

This Work is of strategic importance to both the government of Uganda and the development partners especially the World Bank strategic goals. we urges the government of Uganda to include issues related to Refugees in natural resources management in the upcoming National Development plan phase111 Which the government is developing this will play big roles towards the protection of the country’s natural resources in the refugees hosting districts and communities “He said 

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