Environment
Environment Management in Uganda: Who Is Not Doing Their Part?
By William Lubuulwa
As world citizens, today, 5th June, we celebrate the World Environment Day (WED). But because of today’s State of the Nation address taking place in Kampala, Uganda has chosen to celebrate this year’s WED on 25th June, in Kabale, with the hope that our president will grace the occasion. As we approach this day, I have been meditating on our environment in general, and I offer my thoughts in this write-up.
Uganda’s environment management is like a group assignment gone terribly wrong. Everyone claims they contributed, the report cover is shiny, and the PowerPoint has flying animations but the forest is disappearing, wetlands are sulking, and plastic bottles are staging silent protests in every drainage channel. So, the question we must ask, albeit with a raised eyebrow and a reluctant giggle, is: who exactly is not doing their part?
Citizens: My Rubbish, My Right
Let us start with the average Ugandan. When floods turn roads into swimming pools and manholes into water springs, fingers fly faster than WhatsApp forwards, saying: “NEMA, do your job!” Yet, this is the same citizen who dumps garbage into a drainage channel because the trash collection truck only comes once in a while or has never found their address. You see, every Ugandan seems to carry an invisible exemption form from personal responsibility. The cyclist who ties kaveera to his handlebars says it is for carrying boiled eggs. The homeowner who burns plastic every evening claims the practice kills mosquitoes; and the taxi conductor who throws a plastic water bottle into a roadside trench is convinced gravity will sort it.
According to Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), the city alone generates more than 2,000 tonnes of solid waste daily, and only about half of this is collected. The rest becomes urban decoration.
Developers: If It’s Green, Build On It
Ugandan developers are the true magicians of our economy. They can look at a protected wetland and see a five-bedroom mansion with a paved parking lot, all complete with uninterruptable Wi-Fi. Real estate names in this great nation can sometimes be great jokes: “Eco Haven Apartments” are built in what used to be a wetland. “River View Villas” block the actual view of the river. “Forest Heights Estates” sit proudly on what used to be a forest – but now was is left are heights.
When the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) or district environment officers show up, developers present permits issued by “some office” and act shocked to discover that draining a wetland without an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment might be a problem. It is like building a house in the middle of a lake and claiming, “But I thought the water would move!”
And let us talk numbers. Uganda has lost over 2.4 million hectares of forest since 1990. Meanwhile, wetlands have shrunk from 15.6% of Uganda’s land area in 1994 to less than 9% today, according to the Ministry of Water and Environment. Yet every year, more shopping malls pop up in swamps than mushrooms do in Mabira Forest after the rain.
Local Governments: Permit First, No Questions
Local governments are supposed to be the eyes and ears of environmental protection. Instead, they are often the hands signing building permits for wetlands, forests, and riverbanks. Some officials issue land titles on protected areas with the casualness of someone ordering roadside roast muchomo. Ever tried asking how a wetland got sold? You will be met with a confident: “That land was dry when we visited.”
District natural resources and environment officers often work alone, under facilitated and overwhelmed, while the permit-issuing departments seem to work overtime especially near real estate hotspots. It is like building a house without a roof and blaming the rain for disturbing your night sleep.
Private Sector: Invest, Pollute, Repeat
Ah yes, the commanders of industry. The ones who believe environmental protection is a nice PowerPoint slide, not a daily practice. Some factories discharge untreated waste directly into water bodies. Others burn tyres behind buildings at night believing they are out of sight, out of policy. According to the National Environment Report (2021), over 60% of industries in Uganda operate without approved waste treatment systems. But somehow, they all wave around glossy pictures of their tree-planting activities.
Fuel stations are sprouting next to wetlands and water catchments. Meanwhile, the mining sector – legal and illegal – is gouging hills, silting rivers, and displacing communities, all in the name of “development”. Artisanal miners, often with no training or safety equipment, dig up entire landscapes with hope in one hand and a pickaxe in the other. Gold glitters, but ecosystems groan and sob.
Central Government: Laws and Loopholes
Thumbs up to government! The central government has passed the laws, and continues to do so. Uganda has more environment-related laws and policies than many countries have national holidays. The Climate Change Act. The National Forest Policy. The Renewable Energy Policy. The Uganda Green Growth Development Strategy. The National Environment Act… If legislation could stop deforestation, we would be the greenest country on planet earth. But implementation? That is where the plot twists. NEMA’s budget remains under UGX 50 billion, a paltry figure considering the environmental damage costs the country has to incur annually. That is like trying to fix Kampala potholes with a teaspoon and goodwill.
NEMA: The Punching Bag
When floods hit, forests disappear, or wetlands cry out in bulldozer-induced pain, the first comment on any X post is always the same: “Where is NEMA?” It is flattering, really, how much power people think NEMA has. Yes, the Authority is responsible for coordination and oversight. But enforcement in Uganda often feels like showing up to a gunfight with a yellow banana. Court injunctions stall evictions, whistleblowers disappear, and politicians send mixed signals: many support restorations during day and side with encroachers in the night.
Yet, despite the odds, NEMA has halted illegal sand mining, prosecuted polluters, and pushed for environmental education in schools, among the many things done. But this looks like an environmental game. Each time one illegal activity is stopped, two others pop up elsewhere, faster than a rumour in our village WhatsApp group!
Development Partners: The Jargon Gymnastics
Our international friends mean well, I think. They come armed with grants, acronyms, and enough jargons heavy enough to confuse many of us. And sometimes, the impact is lost in translation. For instance, some fund studies titled “Integrated Ecosystem-Based Adaptation Framework for Cross-Cutting Resilience Enhancement in Transboundary Micro-Watersheds.” What does that mean? Even the implementing officer isn’t sure. Meanwhile, on the ground, the local wetland is being turned into a washing bay. Sometimes, projects focus more on visibility than viability. They plant trees for photo moments, and arrange workshops in hotels far from the affected areas. It is like fighting climate change with mere words.
So… Who Exactly Isn’t Doing Their Part?
Everyone. And no one. It is a collective blame. The environment is that group project where everyone claims leadership, but no one seems to be in real control. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
We can break the pattern. The environment is everyone’s business. Citizens can take responsibility for their waste. Developers can embrace environmental impact assessments as more than a hurdle. Local governments can issue permits guided by the law, not handshakes. The central government can fund what it legislates. The private sector can balance profit with sustainability. And yes, NEMA can keep pushing, even when it feels like dancing in an afternoon downpour. And until everyone does their part, we will keep asking, with comic exhaustion: Who, in this green assignment, is not doing their part?
Mr. Lubuulwa is the Senior Public Relations Officer at NEMA.
