Lawyers under the umbrella of the Uganda Law Society (ULS) have urged government agencies responsible for environmental protection to clearly demarcate wetlands across the country, arguing that the absence of visible boundaries is fuelling disputes and controversial evictions.
Mr Arthur Isiko, the ULS treasurer, said the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and the Ministry of Water and Environment should install permanent boundary markers in protected wetlands to help residents identify restricted areas.
“The government should come out and clearly mark where the wetlands fall. Just as roads have markstones showing where road reserves begin and end, wetlands should also be clearly demarcated,” Mr Isiko said on Saturday.
His remarks followed a visit to residents displaced by recent demolitions in Buggu Village, Busabala, in Wakiso District, where houses were destroyed during a wetland restoration exercise.
Mr Isiko argued that simply marking structures for demolition was insufficient and that authorities should provide clear guidance to communities, including owners of undeveloped plots within protected wetlands.
He also questioned why authorities had allowed settlements to grow in some wetlands before launching enforcement operations.
“The 1995 National Environment Act found some of these people already settled in these areas. If they are to vacate, compensation has to be considered,” he said.
NEMA says more than 100 homes occupying about 10.3 hectares of the protected Kaliddubi Wetland were removed during a restoration exercise conducted between June 2 and June 4.
A separate operation in Kawaala II Zone in Kampala’s Rubaga Division led to the removal of 58 illegal structures and the restoration of 25 acres of degraded wetland, according to the agency.
Some affected residents have questioned the criteria used during the demolitions.
Mr Polycarp Ssekweyama, a resident of Buggu Village, said NEMA officials had previously assessed the area and displayed names of people earmarked for eviction, but his name was not among them.
“To my surprise, my house was demolished. We are no longer crying over the houses that were destroyed. What we need is an explanation,” he said.
On June 11, officials from Wakiso District and NEMA destroyed crops on more than 20 acres in Gobero along the Kampala-Hoima Road, citing encroachment on the River Mayanja wetland. Residents said they were not given prior notice to harvest their crops.
NEMA recently announced a temporary suspension of enforcement operations in Kampala to allow voluntary vacation of wetlands but warned that restoration exercises would continue in other parts of the country until all encroachers are removed.