Government urged to continue sensitizing the public about conserving the environment

8 June 2025, 4:35 pm

By Ronald Ssemagonja

The government of Uganda has been encouraged to continuously carryout sensitizations about the dangers of deforestation, greenhouse emissions, among others. On every 5th June, the world celebrate, the World Environment Day and Uganda decided to postpone the celebration of this day to 25th June 2025, due to the State of the Nation Address. Which the ministry of Water and Environment says was so important, in that, most of the stakeholders and partners were part and therefore they decided to do that.

It is evident that some of the forests in the country are being encroached by individuals. Namara Linda, an environmental conservation activist, said government needs to wake up and act. “Forests like Bugema, Mabira has been cleared for business, settlement, etc. The government, regardless of season and weather changes, it has not provided sustainable solutions like planting of trees, enforcement of deforestation laws and policies. They are instead, issuing permits for logging. If they don’t stop that, the environment will be affected badly and the future generations will blame us for not preserving the environment. If our grandfathers managed to preserve the environment, and we found it the way it was, remember, they had not gone to school, but they knew the importance of preserving the environment. Now we the educated people, we should do the needful,” she said.

Namara said one of the things government should invest in is solar energy by making sure that especially people living in rural areas, can at least have a solar panel for each homestead. As they wait for electricity. “By doing so, people will be able to use the solar energy for business and utilities. Convert captured carbon dioxide into valuable chemicals as materials. By implementing this, greenhouse gas emissions can significantly be reduced and also help in mitigating climate change,” she said.

It is should be noted that greenhouse gas emissions are the released gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect, trapping heat in the earth’s atmosphere and leading to global warming and climate change. These are; Carbon dioxide: which are released through fossil fuels, deforestation and land use changes. Methane: this is released through agriculture, natural gas production and transport and landfills, among others. According to research, the best way to keep the environment, is by planting as many tress as possible.