A regional strike against the destruction of East Africa’s largest tropical forest is in the pipeline, Uganda’s environmentalists have said. The activists, under their umbrella organisation ‘Save Mabira Crusade’, were responding to the Ugandan government’s second attempt to allocate part of Mabira forest to investors. A Ugandan opposition MP, Beatrice Anywar, said on Monday that they have petitioned the national parliaments of the five-member East African Community (EAC) states over the matter. Rwanda is a member of the EAC bloc. “We held a regional meeting in Uganda and agreed that Mabira forest must be saved, as it’s destruction would negatively affect us all. We shall organise a peaceful regional demonstration if government goes ahead with the destruction of the forest,” Anywar said. Anywar who is also a shadow minister in charge of environment said the activists have also written to donors including the World Bank, African Development Bank, European Union, Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) and all embassies in East Africa over the issue. She added: “We want to emphasise that Mabira forest is not only for Uganda but for the whole of our region and all humanity. It is therefore a trans-boundary resource, which Uganda cannot just covert into a grassland (sugar plantation) to benefit some few investors.” “This action of government is a promotion of corruption and perversion of development and undermines the spirit of East Africa integration and co-operation.” She was backed by the Executive Director of the National Association of Professional Environmentalists, Medard Muramuzi. He said: “Rwanda and Burundi have just joined the East African Community so they are not exceptional to this campaign against the giveaway of Mabira. “Their letters have been addressed to respective parliaments. This is a political problem that requires urgent regional solution,” he said. In April, environmentalists led a peaceful demonstration that later turned violent and three people were killed and property worth hundreds of millions was looted. The Ugandan government later backtracked after the violent strike provoked unease from the donor community. But according to the activists, the government has reiterated its decision to give away 7100 hectares of the forest reserve to a sugarcane growing company, SCOUL. Officials argue that government’s position to give away the natural resource would enhance its efforts to re-invent the economy from agricultural into an industrialized one.Mabira forest is a catchment area for Lake Victoria Basin on which a dozen lakes and rivers depend for their water. Destruction of the environment is one of the factors that have led to Lake Victoria’s water levels decline, causing a drastic drop in hydroelectricity production. Ends
