Wetland coverage in Kitagwenda District has declined from 78.4 percent to 76.6 percent, sparking concern among district leaders and environmental authorities.
The district had previously recorded notable regeneration of its wetland ecosystems, making the recent drop a worrying reversal.
According to District Environment Officer Anthony Kalyegira, the decline is largely attributed to weakened environmental education and poor enforcement of existing protection laws.
“The wetland coverage had regenerated to 78.4 percent, but it has now reduced to 76.6 percent,” Kalyegira told Nile Post on Wednesday.
“This decline is mainly due to laxity in environmental education and enforcement, which has allowed encroachment to continue in protected areas.”
Kalyegira said the growing demand for coffee farming is a major driver of wetland destruction, particularly among communities living near marshlands.
“There is high demand for coffee farming, and communities adjacent to marshlands are encroaching on wetlands and cutting down forests to expand agricultural land,” he said. “This has significantly affected the health and coverage of our wetlands.”
He also raised concern over one of the largest wetlands near Lake George, which remains vast and largely undemarcated, making it especially vulnerable to encroachment.
“The biggest wetland near Lake George is very extensive and has not been fully demarcated. This makes it susceptible to encroachment and continued environmental degradation,” he explained.
Community-Led Restoration Plan
In response to the decline, the district’s environment department is preparing to roll out a Community-Led Environment Action for Restoration (CLEAR) strategy. The initiative will encourage residents to take an active role in conservation through the “4Rs” approach — Report, Respond, Recover and Restore.
“We want communities to take responsibility by reporting encroachment cases so that we can respond quickly and restore degraded areas,” Kalyegira said.
Over the past several years, the Ministry of Water and Environment, working with partners such as Joint Efforts to Save the Environment, has supported wetland restoration efforts in the district. These interventions have included demarcating buffer zones using concrete pillars to protect fragile ecosystems.
District authorities remain optimistic that strengthened enforcement, combined with active community participation, will help reverse the decline and safeguard wetlands for future generations.