KAMPALA, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Uganda on Monday marked World Environment Day and International Day for Biodiversity amid celebrations of the reduction of forest cover loss and the increasing number of wildlife species.
World Environment Day, which annually falls on June 5, and International Day for Biological Diversity, were marked under the national theme "Stop Plastic Pollution Today" and "From Agreement to Action: Build Back Biodiversity," respectively. International Day for Biological Diversity is globally marked on May 22.
Sam Cheptoris, minister of water and environment, at the celebrations held here, said the country has made tremendous progress in reversing the loss of forest cover.
"We have been able to reverse the negative trend of our forest cover from only 9.5 percent of the land surface in 2015 to now 13.3 percent," Cheptoris said.
He attributed the success to efforts in protecting the gazetted forests and citizens responding to calls for the restoration of forests on private land and partnering with the government to restore gazetted areas.
"There is also significant progress made to recover most of our wildlife species, including rhinos, gorillas, elephants, and many others," the minister said.
He said the success in forest and wildlife recovery needs to be replicated in the conservation of our wetlands.
"We must work together to stop further loss of wetlands. Without wetlands and forests, we shall not have water to support life, no clean air to breathe, no pollinators to support agricultural production, no water to support hydro-power generation, raw materials for wood industry and crafts," he said.
The minister attributed the recent climate-induced disasters, like landslides and floods to the degradation of the environment. "The good news is that if we work together, we can restore nature and prevent such disasters. If every one of us planted and raised one single tree every year, within five years, we would be very far," he said.
He said the government is working with the private sector and other partners, where every citizen will plant and raise a tree every year. The target is to have at least 40 million trees raised annually, according to the official.
"My appeal to all of us here and the entire country is to explore all ways of ensuring that we bring plastic pollution to a stop as well as protect, value, wisely use biodiversity and restore nature," he said.
The ministry's figures show that plastic pollution is a serious challenge in Uganda. It is estimated that 135,800 tons of plastic waste are generated per year, but only 42 percent are collected. This means that about 78,000 tons of plastic waste are left scattered in the environment, most of it ending up on land, in water bodies, and in aquatic ecosystems like wetlands.
James Okot-Okumu, board chairperson of directors of the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), said conservation agencies need adequate funding in order to succeed in environment management. He cited NEMA, whose staff level is at 30 percent, and yet it is the country's lead environment watchdog.
Okot-Okumu hailed the government for reviving the National Environment Fund, which is critical in the funding of activities geared toward environmental management.
"The National Environment Fund thus provides an opportunity for mobilization of additional financial resources for the effective operation of NEMA and lead agencies," he said. ■