The Government of Uganda is set to double efforts to educate Ugandans on how to preserve the environment and eradicate environmental pollution to conserve nature.
While addressing Ugandans who converged at Kololo Independence Grounds yesterday, June 5, 2023, in Kampala as Uganda joined the rest of the world to celebrate World Environment Day 2023, Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja, who represented President Museveni as the chief guest, said that the government has been armed to promote environmental conservation.
In the premier’s speech before reading the president’s speech, it said that in a bid to conserve the environment, President Museveni issued an executive order to halt environmental degradation in northern and eastern Uganda.
“President Museveni gave us another executive order that is geared towards stopping environmental degradation in the north and eastern parts of Uganda,” Premier Nabbanja said.
President Museveni chided Ugandans in his speech, which Minister Nabbanja read, saying that they couldn’t call themselves patriots if they didn’t care about and love their country’s environment.
“You cannot claim to be a patriot if you don’t love and care about the environment of Uganda, which is comprised of physical features such as lakes, rivers, and forests, among others,” President Museveni said.
According to President Museveni, the government is committed to promoting greater use of electricity, solar energy, and biogas and doubling efforts to educate people on how to take care of the environment.
However, since poverty at the household level frequently serves as a catalyst for environmental degradation, these initiatives must also include eradicating it.
The president also revealed that an economically empowered population will be in a better position to protect and conserve the environment.
Alice Muwanguzi, the former Movement Secretariat deputy director of information and director of ceremonies, cautioned the public against littering empty plastic bottles on roads and other places.
“Don’t just drink and drop a plastic bottle anywhere because it will cause damage to generations to come,” Alice Muwanguzi said.
She also commended NEMA and the Ministry of Water and Environment, citing some of the measures they have put in place to conserve the environment.
“I thank NEMA and sister ministries for promoting sustainable environment practices like suspension of further permitting of the use of wetlands, requiring tree planting as a condition, and requiring factories to install air polluting monitors, among others,”. She said.
Dr. Barirega Akankwasah, the executive director of NEMA, revealed that the world loses three times more wetlands than forest cover, stating that globally, the world has lost 71 percent of its wetland cover since 1900.
He however, stated that there are many efforts to recover the wetland coverage loss in the country.
“We are going to see a slight recovery, with the latest assessment putting the intact wetland cover at 9.3 percent, which is an increment,” he said.
Dr. Barirega called upon the Ugandans to protect the country’s environment in order to maintain its beauty and health, which he referred to as the pearl of Africa.