A tale of One (1) speech day and 364 days of environmental annoyance
World over every 5th of June, nations take time to commemorate the world environment day. A day usually taken to show case the issues pertaining our environment and the challenges ahead.
This year around the nice and well thought theme “Global warming is real: Green your environment, plant more trees” simply flabbergasted me and left me thinking why a waste of time and resources enjoying goodies for the day with absolutely nothing new to offer to this earth of ours? Same talk, same people, same promises, same activities, same speeches .... same same.... no change!! Why??
Fashionable as it may seem to be, many nations including my very own “Gifted by Nature” that have excelled in environmental defilement had all reasons to mourn for the day rather than celebrating the unseen.
Blessed with numerous water bodies, wetlands, forests, second hand cars, Uganda has been an environmental disgrace of recent years. Given about 506 forest reserves, Uganda has been in the frontline of environmental ‘success’ with 354 (70%) of these reserves under the threat of destruction. Whereas we all whined about the scandalous Mabira forest issue, Budongo forest in Bunyoro on the other hand was dancing to the tunes of ‘cut, cut and cut more trees’.
With an estimate of 70 million hectares of trees being felled annually, Uganda is doing lots of favors to global warming. To the Eastern region alone, over 74% of the green vegetation (forests and wetlands) have been degraded. Tree cutting that accounts for over 25% of global warming has created a huge gap between sustainability and total destruction. In Uganda every wrong that seems to be obviously wrong is easily justified by why wrongs and rights are only different by the spelling.
The waters have neither been safe from the unbecoming behaviors of our nation to manage the environment more sustainably. Many years ago (20 years), L. Victoria that blossomed with over 400 species of fish, has now become a dumping ground for all that seems to be waste. A high concentration of Lead and Mercury has not only caused the deaths of water flora and fauna but has left the waters too polluted for direct human consumption.
Global warming a result of indiscriminate tree cutting, reduced water levels, rainfall shortages among others have led to an increase in atmospheric temperatures that has seen an increase in short rainfall periods in Uganda. The human causes of global warming notably as a result of persistent poverty with over 70% of Ugandans dependent on nature for survival has by far been the most justifiable reason for environmental destruction. True as it may sound to especially our development partners, money splashed in these celebrations would surely be channeled to more productive activities such as construction of Lorena energy savers for the poor in the rural areas who ironically cut but don't destroy trees and yet are at the forefront of planting trees.
Having been ignored by the government on poverty reduction, the poor have little or simply no choice but to entirely thrive from nature. A typical African nation like this will year after year engage in the ping pong game to counter argue their failure to transform its people to an environmentally aware lot. Those who have an education and probably more aware of the environmental changes, tend to create a class of their own, with most of them buying out the local population and the government organs to encroach on gazetted lands. Such environmentally unfriendly nations should surely know that celebrating a day of that magnitude can’t be used as a battle ground to sustainability.
World over every 5th of June, nations take time to commemorate the world environment day. A day usually taken to show case the issues pertaining our environment and the challenges ahead.
This year around the nice and well thought theme “Global warming is real: Green your environment, plant more trees” simply flabbergasted me and left me thinking why a waste of time and resources enjoying goodies for the day with absolutely nothing new to offer to this earth of ours? Same talk, same people, same promises, same activities, same speeches .... same same.... no change!! Why??
Fashionable as it may seem to be, many nations including my very own “Gifted by Nature” that have excelled in environmental defilement had all reasons to mourn for the day rather than celebrating the unseen.
Blessed with numerous water bodies, wetlands, forests, second hand cars, Uganda has been an environmental disgrace of recent years. Given about 506 forest reserves, Uganda has been in the frontline of environmental ‘success’ with 354 (70%) of these reserves under the threat of destruction. Whereas we all whined about the scandalous Mabira forest issue, Budongo forest in Bunyoro on the other hand was dancing to the tunes of ‘cut, cut and cut more trees’.
With an estimate of 70 million hectares of trees being felled annually, Uganda is doing lots of favors to global warming. To the Eastern region alone, over 74% of the green vegetation (forests and wetlands) have been degraded. Tree cutting that accounts for over 25% of global warming has created a huge gap between sustainability and total destruction. In Uganda every wrong that seems to be obviously wrong is easily justified by why wrongs and rights are only different by the spelling.
The waters have neither been safe from the unbecoming behaviors of our nation to manage the environment more sustainably. Many years ago (20 years), L. Victoria that blossomed with over 400 species of fish, has now become a dumping ground for all that seems to be waste. A high concentration of Lead and Mercury has not only caused the deaths of water flora and fauna but has left the waters too polluted for direct human consumption.
Global warming a result of indiscriminate tree cutting, reduced water levels, rainfall shortages among others have led to an increase in atmospheric temperatures that has seen an increase in short rainfall periods in Uganda. The human causes of global warming notably as a result of persistent poverty with over 70% of Ugandans dependent on nature for survival has by far been the most justifiable reason for environmental destruction. True as it may sound to especially our development partners, money splashed in these celebrations would surely be channeled to more productive activities such as construction of Lorena energy savers for the poor in the rural areas who ironically cut but don't destroy trees and yet are at the forefront of planting trees.
Having been ignored by the government on poverty reduction, the poor have little or simply no choice but to entirely thrive from nature. A typical African nation like this will year after year engage in the ping pong game to counter argue their failure to transform its people to an environmentally aware lot. Those who have an education and probably more aware of the environmental changes, tend to create a class of their own, with most of them buying out the local population and the government organs to encroach on gazetted lands. Such environmentally unfriendly nations should surely know that celebrating a day of that magnitude can’t be used as a battle ground to sustainability.
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