By Morish Dramadri.

Arua City

The degradation of wetlands in West Nile due to the impact of climate change, other human and environmental stressors, is threatening environmentalists in the region. According to the statistics from Building Resilient Communities, Wetland Ecosystems and Associated Catchments in Uganda project, Over 80% of the people living adjacent to wetland areas in Uganda directly use wetland resources for their household food security needs.

Andama Richard Ferua, a former political leader of the then Arua district who also doubles as an environmental activist says, people have turned wetlands to farm lands draining off the water in the wetlands that used to be reserved as source of water for animals. “wetlands used to be preserved because people knew they were drinking points for the animals but now people think the opened farm lands have become degraded and therefore the tops soils have been washed from top land to the wetlands making them exceptionally rich for food to grow, now people have turned them for growing food for livelihood”, he narrates. He however blames people’s activities on the wetlands   for the delayed rains in the region saying “we are the cause of our own disaster for not receiving rain, we will not receive rain until we plant trees and restore this wetlands, because God gave us rains before He created human beings” Ferua lamented.

But Mustafa Gerima, a renowned environmentalist for his walk in preservation of the Shea nut trees in west Nile says, “I think the most important thing government should have done is to step up especially with the government agencies like NEMA on the sensitization of the people especially those in rural area and urban dwellers on the importance of wetland conservation”. Given the vulnerability of wetlands in country, government through   the Ministry of Water and Environment initiated eight-year- Building Resilient Communities, Wetland Ecosystems and Associated Catchments in Uganda project that started from 2017 and is expected to end in 2025 in order to restore wetlands in the country.