OPINION
Editor recently the media reported about Kitubulu forest reserve along Entebbe road being under a big threat by the encroachers including private companies such as Triple Sounds investment Limited, Abacus Africa vocations, Megha Industries (U) limited and others carrying out illegal human activities in this critical biodiversity. The illegal human activities are almost leading the complete of the forest.
For many years, the Kitubulu Central Forest Reserve has been facing the alarming levels of environmental degradation due to human encroachment. Activities such as unmonitored farming, logging, and mining and others under the watch of National Forestry Authority (NFA) and the sister agencies that are responsible to protect forests in Uganda.
However, it is noted that National Forestry Authority (NFA) issued licenses to various private developers to establish eco-lodges with in the Kitubulu forest reserve that serves a lot of roles on environment, people’s livelihood and country’s economy. For example this forest also supports the tourism sector that contributes over 800,000 jobs to Ugandans and contributing 3.6% to the country’s GDP.
In addition to that , the forest plays other roles on environment, people’s livelihoods and country’s economy for instance it is a home of diverse range of flora and fauna, it help in the attraction of the rainfall, purification of water, source of water catchments, provide local medicine and firewood to the neighboring communities and others
The illegal human activities by private developers such as eco-lodges and others in the forest should be stopped with immediate effect because the illegal human activities cannot serve the same purpose for this forest.
If the forest is not protected from the encroachers, the neighboring communities and the country at large are likely to face the challenges resulting from the destruction of this forest for instance the human -animal conflicts because the wild animals will have lost their habitat, drastic climate change because the forest will be no more, drying up of the water points and others.
The forest under a big threat is situated near the city of Entebbe in central Uganda; the Kitubulu Central Forest Reserve spans an area of 80 hectares. Despite its relatively small size, this forest reserve plays a significant role in maintaining the ecological balance of the region.
Therefore, I call upon the government of Uganda to cancel all the land titles in this critical eco-systems but also environmentalist to add more pressure on the government agencies such National Forestry authority (NFA), Ministry of lands, National Environmental management Authority (NEMA) and others ensure that the forest is protected from encroachers.
By Paul Kato
Research associate and Environmental Activist.
Email: Katop.adyeeri@gmail.com
