Environmentalists launch campaign to mitigate climate change
The minister of Works and Transport, Gen Katumba Wamala has called upon Ugandans to ensure proper waste disposal methods and tree planting as one way of revamping the environment which are greatly being affected by human activities.
Wamala made the remarks as environmentalists led by World Wide Fund for Nature Uganda (WWF-Ug) launched "Earth Hour" 2022 campaign under the theme “Shape our future-rethink plastic” aimed at rethinking plastics use that are choking the environment including rivers, lakes, sewage systems.
"This campaign aimed at keeping Uganda clean, green and closing the youth employment gap through green growth by planning 60 million trees in Uganda over the next five years. We should be able to achieve that .We are 47 million. How can we fail? Let us be responsible as Ugandans," he said.
Research shows that a total of 500 billion bags and bottles are used every year around the world and 13million end up in water bodies posing a threat to aquatic life.
Wamala noted that the campaign will help to create awareness about the ill-effects of single use plastics on the environment.
Environmentalists also took the campaign to the streets of Kampala carrying placards demonstrating against continuous use of polythene bags and single-use bottles regardless of the practice being outlawed.
The activists demanded the immediate implementation of the National Environment Regulations, 2020 and the National Environment Act 2019 that requires the private sector to collect the wastes they litter.
Speaking to the Nile Post shortly after the launch of the campaign, the country director WWF Uganda, David Duli said plastic pollution creates several kinds of negative consequences combined with socio-economic effects on the ecosystem, hence the need for sensitisation to the public for change.
“In Uganda now we have been focusing on plastics because we know that is one serious big environmental condemnation that we have in the country .We want the community and people to be aware that plastics can be recycled .Use plastics and get it dumped in the right place, ”he advised.
Duli noted that they are talking to different industries in the country to look at this aspect of recycling as well as making the community aware of how these issues of plastics are handled.
“Plastics are a commodity that has been here for nearly 100 years. The problem is the use of plastics that are not controlled .There are plastics which are environment friendly that can be used and then those which are dumped in the environment can still be reprocessed, ”he said.
Through the ‘Taasa Obutonde’ campaign, Next Media Services with its partners hope to cause a required mind shift for people to reduce the use and responsible disposal of these plastics.
