Experts express concern over delay in settling environment related cases

Environmentalists have revealed the judiciary is in the advanced stages of establishing the Environmental Protection Division at the High Court to cater for the case backlog of environment-related cases.

The state minister for Environment, Beatrice Atim Anywar, said the absence of such an arrangement has been contributing to the continued degradation of the environment affecting easy disposal of cases.

Anywar stated that they have on several times faced situation where degraders run to the courts of law to seek for injection but the act continues hence making the cases to delay.

"We thought we needed that division in the court of law to help us quickly dispose of some of those environmental issues," she noted.

Anywar made the remarks while making closing remarks at a high-level engagement with different stakeholders to review the National Strategy for Plastics Circularity in Uganda.

Experts said the poor regulation by the government, strong consumer demand and market trends have caused an astronomical increase in the use of plastics in the country amid evident dangers to human health and the environment.

Anywar said plastics are a global challenge, adding that Uganda should not live in isolation because most countries in East Africa have banned single use plastics.

"Let us be guardians of the environment. The political will towards saving our environment is enormous," she said, noting that president Museveni is committed to the protection of the environment.

Barirega Akankwasah, the executive director at National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) said lack of clear strategy to manage plastics is responsible for the growth of environmental degradation by plastics wastes.

Statistics from Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) shows that annually, Uganda imports around 8.7 million tonnes of plastics in different forms.