Op-Ed: Lwera Rice Scheme and Palm Trees in Kalangala cannot cause climate change

By Ben Ssebuguzi

During the eviction of people from Lubigi swamp, I saw someone on TV demanding the eviction of the rice project in Lwera. I would like everyone to share this article in order to demystify the myth about that project.

Recently, the bursting of the Katonga River was not caused by the growing of rice as alleged by everyone including academicians and environmental activists, but in actual sense, the swelling waters were caused by climate change which is the wearing away of the land surface by action of natural forces such as wind, water and ice. Actually one would say that the planting of rice qualifies as plant with purpose project which can mitigate climate change like floods because rice reduces the intensity of the amount of water in the swamp.

The case of Palm tree growing in Kalangala district where over 1850 households have tremendously changed, has helped many to improve the lives of people in the islands which were previously depending on the lake for survival. I would therefore like to inform the negators of that project to stop confusion which curtails development. For starters, deforestation is the permanent destruction of trees, which is not the case with palm trees because they cut trees and replace them with other plant trees which can be termed as Reforestation.

Additionally, the reason why deforestation is dangerous is because it disrupts the water cycle where trees which are supposed to absorb water from the soil to the atmosphere to create rain water of a water cycle are no more! This is not the case here, because palm trees are also Plants with purpose.

Plants with Purpose is a transformational Development approach that brings together environmental restoration, and ECONOMIC empowerment for our communities which the government should hype and promote.

Our people should also know that the number one cause of environmental degradation is poverty, and that’s why President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is always using different approaches like PDM, YLP, Emyooga, UPE, USE, free Skilling etc in order to stop only working for stomach but also get an income to support households expenses. The President is always encouraging the Bazukkulu to join 4 sectors which include industry, services, ICT, and Agriculture.

I thank the Office of NRM National Chairman headed by Hajjat Hadijah Uzeiye for always leading the efforts of amplifying the President’s wealth creation messages. If we take up his message, we shall be mitigating climate change.

Poverty causes environmental degradation because people living in poverty often experience hunger and food insecurity which lead to over-exploitation of natural resources like trees which are frequently harvested to turn into charcoal a product that can be sold for quick cash. This can lead to deforestation, air pollution etc. Similarly, Poverty can cause environmental degradation in other ways because it can lead to a lack of access to education with knowledge about environmental conservation.

The reason why NEMA, a government agency that protects the environment was justified in evicting people in the Lubigi wetland is because their human activity involves destroying the plant cover by dumping soil which furthers soil erosion. This removes the swamps that filter poisonous chemicals in water that make NWSC incur higher costs of water treatment hence increasing the cost of living.

In conclusion, we should be slow to fault people with projects like Hotels on the shorelines, like the one of Rajiv Ruparelia of Speke hotels in Gaba which have passed the Environment Impact Assessment by NEMA because they employ multitudes of people on small sizeable land who would endanger the environment on large scale through human activity.

Similarly, it hurt me to see natives of Bushenyi demonizing a hotel development on their own yet they lack jobs. We have to balance Human Activity and Nature in order to survive that’s why oil projects like crude oil pipelines, the refineries are very crucial in fighting poverty which is the trouble causer of environmental degradation. That’s why such projects get EIA in order to minimize their effect on the environment.

Ben Ssebuguzi is the Head of Research Office Office of the National Chairman of NRM-Kyambogo. Email: ssebuguziben09@gmail / Tel: 0751811286