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By Innocent Ruhangariyo
KABALE-
Godfrey Nyakahuma the Resident District Commissioner Kabale has vowed to the government and all stakeholders to look forward to having a strategic plan to protect the environment through forest planting.
Nyakahuma said this on Wednesday 15 march 2023 while addressing and closing a one-day workshop organized by Kabale district local government environment stakeholders and the ministry of water at Kirigime guest house in Kabale municipality.
Nyakahuma raised the concern on how people have encroached on wetlands and also random tree cutting which has resulted in effective soil erosion and eventually loss of soil fertility hence Fewer harvests and which is not like before because Kabale and Kigezi were known of being fertile that favored them to get engaged in farming.
Nyakahuma further said that this program of tree planting should be extended to all districts of Uganda such that the destructed vegetation is recovered saying that as a developing country over 70 % of Ugandans uses charcoal for related domestic purposes which has left hills with no vegetation cover.
However, Nyakahuma also revealed that people failed to adopt methods of farming like terracing, afforestation which has eased soil erosion to take place which is the washing away of top soils from Hills down into valleys because it is favored by the terrain of the area (Kigezi) saying if this act continues is expected to affect Uganda’s population in terms of economic livelihood.
Nyakahuma said that this has also affected agricultural production where the harvests have subsequently reduced in terms of output which will again affect the population there is a continuous reduction of harvests these years compared to years back and which is not controlling the population, predicting that if this is tackled may lead to poverty and famine Among the families in the communities.