Uganda joined the rest of the world in celebrating World Wetlands Day on February 2nd. Celebrations were held at the Kaunda grounds in Gulu, a city located in northern Uganda. Honourable Kasule Lumumba, Minister of General Duties in the Prime Minister’s Office, presided over the ceremony representing the president of Uganda, Genral Yoweri Museveni. Among other dignitaries from the Ministry of Water and the Environment, she was accompanied by the state minister for Warer, Hon Aisha Nakiyingi.
With reference to the SEBU projects on display, Kabale University made a passionate appeal to guests about the importance of wetland conservation. Dr Julius Arinaitwe and Godfrey Sempungu, both consultants on the JRS-funded project, discussed the importance of biodiversity promotion for not only maintaining wetlands, but also successful coexistence. The Kabale SEBU project representatives demonstrated potential ways in which wetlands might slowly be replenished through more sustainable use that would promote biodiversity by using the papyrus plant and other creatively set up posters and banners.
In the KAB stall, Godfrey and Julius explained to the ministers and some of the key guests the impending risks associated with unrestricted use of the papyrus-based wetlands in Uganda. Using the high-altitude papyrus as an example, Dr Arinaitwe emphasized the role of human activities in modifying the ecological system. In his presentation, he pointed out that some of the birds that are endemic to high altitude papyrus are already in decline. During his presentation, Sempungu discussed the role that education institutions play through their teaching, research and innovation in extending to the community by developing industry-based programmes that bridge existing gaps in the community.
Local communities and other organizations involved in environment-related activities attended the ceremony. As part of government policy to increase awareness and protect the environment, the minister of environment explained some of the recently enacted legislation during the ceremony. With projects such as SEBU, the JRS foundation aims to increase the availability of data and to make it readily available to everyone for use in generating policies and raising awareness about our environment. Earlier in the day, the SEBU team and district environment officers of Kabale conducted a radio talk show in the voice of Kigezi discussing the progress of wetland use and conservation in the region.
