MEDIA FOR CHANGE NETWORK
A call for civil disobedience against the privatisation of peasant seeds
Published
7 months agoon
![](https://witnessradio.org/wp-content/uploads/13.png)
For thousands of years, communities have nurtured and taken care of the crops and seeds that sustain us. Seeds are part of human history, work and knowledge systems, and our relationship with them is a never-ending conversation of care. This mutual nurturing has given rise to specific ways of cultivating, sharing, feeding and healing that are linked to community norms, responsibilities, obligations and rights.
People’s freedom to work with seeds hinges on the responsibility of communities who defend and maintain them, who care for them and enjoy the goods they provide. And this freedom is under threat.
Today there is a strong assault on people’s seeds. It comes from the drive to regulate, standardise and privatise seeds to expand markets for corporations. This is done through plant breeders’ rights and patent laws, as well as seed certification schemes, variety registers and marketing laws. Whatever the form, it is about legalising abuse, dispossession and devastation.
Today’s attack on seeds aims to put an end to peasant and Indigenous agriculture, an end to independent food production. Where peasant food sovereignty prevails, it is difficult to turn us into cheap and dependent labour, people without territory and without history. We face a coordinated political and technocratic crusade to impose uniform and rigid laws and regulations in favour of agroindustry. There is a determined effort to discredit people’s historical practices and ancestral indigenous peasant knowledge in order to make us dependent on corporations. Communities who have resisted have faced criminalisation, repression, and even imprisonment
Whether in Africa, Asia, Europe or the Americas, communities are fighting this pressure and we are united and mobilised to actively support them.
– In Benin, social movements have stopped the national parliament from discussing a law proposal to join UPOV, the Union for the Protection of New Plant Varieties. UPOV sets global standards for seed privatisation in favour of transnationals like Monsanto/Bayer, Syngenta and Corteva.
– In Guatemala, Indigenous peoples are in the streets demanding that their government’s proposed bill to adopt UPOV standards be scrapped as well. They call it “the Monsanto Law” and its rejection is part of an ongoing nationwide strike.
– In El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, groups are working together to prevent the adoption of a new ruling that would open the doors to genetically modified seeds in all three countries at once.
– In Thailand, civil society organisations are fighting hard against free trade agreements that impose UPOV instead of protecting the rights of farmers and other rural communities to maintain and use their local seeds.
-In Indonesia, farmers and civil society organisations continue to reject UPOV, which is being imposed through free trade negotiations and under pressure from countries like Japan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4pD_yZG1lc
-In the Philippines, farmers, scientists, concerned citizens and civil society organizations filed an environmental case to the Supreme Court to stop the commercial propagation of the genetically modified golden rice that is patented by Syngenta and other agrochemical corporations. Moreover, Filipino farmers are spearheading the fight for the recognition and strengthening of farmers’ rights to seeds and farmers’ seed system by forwarding seed commoning as an alternative to the UPOV-like laws in the country.
– Internationally, peasant and other social movements are also trying to get the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) translated into enforceable national laws.
We are determined to resist the dispossession of seeds from the hands of the people. We vigorously oppose registration, certification, patenting and marketing schemes, treaties, conventions, national and international laws and legal frameworks such as UPOV and other seed laws that promote the dispossession of the common goods and knowledge of our peoples.
We, as peoples in resistance, guardians of the seeds, will continue keeping, sharing and reproducing our seeds so our presence will germinate from our roots.
Signatories (Only organisation name displayed):
ABSDD/Slow Food |
Burkina Faso |
Acción Comunal |
Colombia |
ACDIC |
Cameroun |
AFSA |
Africa region |
Switzerland |
|
AgriMovement |
Lebanon |
AIFFRS |
India |
AKban Mague |
Colombia |
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation |
USA |
A lo Verde Escuela de Huertos Agroecologicos |
Ecuador |
Alliance pour le Développement Durable et pour l’Environnement |
Côte d’Ivoire |
Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture |
India |
Amigos unidos con amor hojas de agricultura |
Colombia |
Anti-mining struggle committee |
India. |
ANAGAVEC |
Ecuador |
APBREBES |
Global/Switzerland |
Aravali Bachao |
India |
ARBA (Asociación para la recuperación del bosque autóctono) |
Spain |
Aseas |
Colombia |
Asoproorgànicos |
Colombia |
Association des Jeunes Agriculteurs de la Casamance |
Senegal |
Asociación de mujeres unidas por el desarrollo juanchopuquio encañada |
Peru |
Asociación Ecoaldea Aldeafeliz |
Colombia |
Asociacion Agroecologia y Fe |
Bolivia |
Asociación PROBIVIR |
Colombia |
Association pour la Défense de l’environnement et des Consommateurs (ADEC) |
Sénégal |
Asociación Shuar Sharup de cuidado y protección de semillas. |
Ecuador |
Association Sénégalaise des Producteurs de Semences Paysannes |
Senegal |
Association Tunisienne de Permaculture |
Tunisie |
Atukpamba y Red de Guardianes de Semillas de Ecuador |
Ecuador |
Audace Institut Afrique |
Côte d’Ivoire |
Bangladesh Agricultural Farm Labour Federation (BAFLF) |
Bangladesh |
Badabon Sangho |
Bangladesh |
Bendito Prashadam |
Colombia |
BioThai |
Thailand |
Biodiversity and Biosafety Association of Kenya |
Kenya |
Biodiversity Information Box |
Japan |
Biowatch South Africa |
South Africa |
Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) |
India |
Building Futures |
USA |
Cabildo Indígena de la cuenca del Río Guabas |
Colombia |
Cámara Verde de la Amazorinoquía |
Colombia |
Campesinos construyendo futuro |
Colombia |
Caritas Diocese of Malakal (CDoM) |
South Sudan |
Casa de semillas El Origen |
Colombia |
CCPA |
Sénégal |
CEIP |
Colombia |
CENDA |
Bolivia |
CERAI |
Spain |
Chile Mejor sin TLC |
Chile |
Chilis on Wheels |
United States |
C.netzero |
DRC |
City Mouse Garden |
United States |
COAG |
Spain |
Coati |
Colombia |
Cocapeutas Cooperatica Mujeres Medicina |
Peru |
Colectiva de mujeres Muralistas |
Colombia |
Colectivo Agroecológico Del Ecuador |
Ecuador |
Colectivo Cultura Saravita |
Colombia |
Colectivo por la Autonomía / Saberes Locales |
México |
Colombia Humana |
Colombia |
Colectivo Minga de soberanía alimentaria deChia |
Colombia |
Colectivo Semilla Negra |
México |
Colectivo Xiegua |
Colombia |
Comité de Derechos Humanos de la Sierra Norte de Veracruz |
México |
Comité Ouest Africain des semences Paysannes |
West Africa |
Commission of Charity and Social Actions – Caritas Dalat |
Viet Nam |
Comunidad Moneda Luna |
Colombia |
Comunidad Rural de la Buitrera |
Colombia |
comunidad kishuar Amazanga |
Ecuador |
Cooperativa Huacal |
México |
Coordinadora Ambiental Popular de Santa Rosa de Cabal |
Colombia |
COPAGEN |
West Africa |
CORDES MAELA RENAF |
Colombia |
Corpalabra |
Colombia |
CORPONIMA |
Colombia |
Corporación Aluna |
Colombia |
Corporación Creare Social |
Colombia |
Corporación Compromiso |
Colombia |
Corporacion Frutos de Utopía |
Colombia |
Corporación Síntesis |
Colombia |
Corredor biológico Montes del aguacate costa Rica |
Costa Rica |
CREATE |
INDIA |
CSRD |
India |
CSFdeepinnerMusic |
Netherlands |
Cuatro Rumbos Para Ti |
México |
CULTIVISA |
Colombia |
Cultivo Lo Nuestro |
Colombia |
Custodios de Semillas Ancestrales |
Colombia |
Darbar Sahitya Sansada |
India |
DESMI, A.C. |
México |
Ecofeminisarte |
Colombia |
Ecosinergia |
Colombia |
EdibleBristol |
UK |
El Jilote, SPG |
México |
Enda Pronat |
Senegal |
ESAL |
Colombia |
Escuela de Líderesas del Ecuador, y mujeres por el cambio, y defensa por la salud de los pueblos |
Ecuador |
Evobiota Consultancy Corporation |
Philippines |
Extinction Rebellion València |
España |
FAEB / Federation Agroecologique du Benin |
BENIN |
FIAN Indonesia |
Indonesia |
Finca Carrizales |
Colombia |
Frente de lucha Ambiental Delia Villalba |
Uruguay |
Friends of the Earth Nigeria |
Nigeria |
Fundacion Ambiental |
Colombia |
Fundacion Avá |
Argentina |
Fundación Julia Márquez |
Colombia |
Fundacion Biosistemas Integrados |
Uruguay |
Fundación la COSMOPOLITANA |
Colombia |
Fundacion Luna Arte |
Colombia |
Fundación Runakawsai |
Ecuador |
Gealac |
Peru |
Gender Justice |
Zambia |
Glesi |
Netherlands |
Good Food Community |
Philippines |
GRAIN |
International |
Grassroots klimaatboerderij |
Belgium |
Grassroots Trust |
Zambia |
Groupe d’action Écologique pour le développement intégral |
RDC |
Grow Local Colorado |
United States |
Grupo Allpa |
Ecuador |
Grupo Raquira Silvestre SAS |
Colombia |
Grupo Semillas |
Colombia |
HEKS Swiss Church Cooperation |
Switzerland |
Humaine |
Belgique |
Huerta comunitaria y Jardín Polinizador Con Ojos de Amor |
Colombia |
Huerta Marsella |
Bogota |
Huertas Swa Cho |
Colombia |
Huerto Agroecológico Atemajac |
México |
Incredible Edible Lambeth |
United Kingdom |
Indigenous Women and Girls Initiative |
Kenya |
Instituto Agroecológico Latinoamericano México |
México |
Instituto Humanitas |
Perú |
ISRA |
Sénégal |
JAL Diviso |
Colombia |
Joint Action for Water |
India |
Junta de agua vereda laureles |
Colombia |
JVE Côte d’Ivoire |
Côte d’Ivoire |
Kikandwa Environmental Association |
Uganda |
Laboratorio de Tierras |
Ecuador |
La Via Campesina East and Southern Africa |
Zimbabwe |
La Tucaneta |
Colombia |
Lapapaya |
Colombia |
La Cité Idéale |
Burkina Faso |
La Cuica Cósmica |
Ecuador |
La Savia |
Colombia |
Les amis de la Terre |
Togo |
Lideresa social |
Colombia |
Kansas interfaith Action |
USA |
Karnataka State Farmers Association (KRRS) |
India |
Malaysian Food Sovereignty Forum (FKMM) |
Malaysia |
MASIPAG |
Philippines |
Mesa Departamental de Diálogo y Concertación Agraría, Étnica y Popular de Nariño |
|
Methods Lab |
United States |
MINGAnet |
Colombia |
Mink’a Comunicación |
Argentina |
Mirachik |
Ecuador |
Mouvement d’Action Paysanne |
Belgium |
Mouvement des jeunes pour l’agriculture,l’agroécologique,et Agro pastorale (M.J.A.A.P) |
R.D.Congo |
Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform (MONLAR) |
Sri Lanka |
Movimiento Agroecológico de América Latina y el Caribe-MAELA |
Colombia |
Movimiento Campesino de Papaye |
Haïti |
Movimiento pacto histórico |
Colombia |
Movimiento Rural Cristiano |
España |
Mujeres que reverdecen |
Colombia |
Munsenga cooperative |
Zambia |
National Alliance for Agroecology The Gambia |
Gambia |
Malawi |
|
Ntaamba Hiinta Development Trust |
Zambia |
Ofraneh |
Honduras |
ojoVoz |
Mexico |
OK Seed Project |
Japan |
ONG YVEO |
Côte d’Ivoire |
Organisation des Ruraux pour une Agriculture Durable |
Benin |
Organización campesinos construyendo futuro (OCCF) |
Colombia |
Panitar Pally Unnyan Samiti |
India |
Paralegal Alliance Network |
Zambia |
Perkumpulan INISIATIF |
Indonesia |
Perkumpulan Kediri Bersama Rakyat (KIBAR) |
Indonesia |
Plataforma del País Valencià per un tren públic, social i sostenible que vertebre el territori i refrede el planeta |
Spain |
Primavera Zur |
Colombia |
Promotores ambientales del eje cafetero |
Colombia |
Proyecto agroecologico familiar y educativo ambiental sueño verde |
Colombia |
PTR Associates |
USA |
Punarchith |
India |
RADD |
Cameroun |
Radio Bénin |
Bénin |
RECHERCHE SANS FRONTIÈRES RSF |
RD Congo |
Red de Agricultores Urbanos Bogotá |
Colombia |
Red de consumo Responsable y consciente |
Colombia |
Red Colombiana de Agricultura Biológica de Antioquía |
Colombia |
Red de Custodia de Semillas Criollas y Nativas (CESTA) |
Colombia |
Red de foresteia análoga |
Ecuador |
Red de huertos agroecológicos de Cali |
Colombia |
Red de huertos urbanos |
Colombia |
Red de Resersvas / Resnatur |
Colombia |
Red de semillas criollas y nativas |
Uruguay |
Red de semillas libres de Colombia |
Colombia |
Red Distrital de Agricultores |
Colombia |
Red en defensa del Maiz |
México |
Red Kunagua |
Colombia |
Redmac |
Colombia |
REDMUNORCA |
Colombia |
Red de Pueblos Hermanos |
Colombia |
Red de jóvenes por la Agrobiodiversidad |
Perú |
Red Yuma |
Colombia |
Regional Schools and Colleges Permaculture |
Kenya |
Reservorio de Semillas Techotiva |
Colombia |
RESNATUR – Red de reservas |
Colombia |
Reseau JINUKUN |
Benin |
Resource Institute of Social Education |
India |
Salt Films |
India |
Sanwad |
India |
Save Earth Save Life Movement |
India |
Save Our Rice Campaign |
India |
Secretaria de educación de Bogotá |
Colombia |
Seed In A Box |
Lebanon |
Semillas de Nuestra Tierra |
México |
Semilla Nativa Colombia |
Colombia |
Semillas de Identidad – SWISSAID |
Colombia |
Serikat Buruh Migran Indonesia Kalbar |
Indonesia |
SERVIHUERTA |
Colombia |
Siyada network |
Arab région |
Société civile environnementale et agro-rurale du Congo |
RDC |
Sociedad libre y Neocampesina |
Colombia |
Soil if Cultures |
New Zealand |
South India Coordination Committee of Farmers Movements |
India |
SSN |
England |
Zambia and Africa |
|
Sukrutham |
India |
Synergie Nationale des Paysans et Riverains du Cameroun |
Cameroun |
Tanzania Alliance for Biodiversity |
Tanzania |
Tamizhaga Vivasayigal Sangam |
India |
The Ecocene Project |
India |
The Failing Farmer |
Tunisia |
The Hummingbird Foundation |
Kenya |
The Sixth Element School |
India |
The Utopian Seed Project |
USA |
Tierra Fertil |
Colombia |
Tinto to go |
Colombia |
Tlalixpan, sobre la faz de la tierra |
México |
Unillanos |
Colombia |
Unión de Organizaciones de la Sierra Juárez Oaxaca |
México |
Union Démocratique de l’Agriculture |
Maroc |
Unión de Organizaciones de la Sierra Juárez Oaxaca |
México |
Unión nacional de organizaciones regionales campesinas autónomas (UNORCA) |
Mexico |
Union Régionale des Associations Paysannes de DIOURBEL URAPD |
Senegal |
Uruguay Soberano |
Uruguay |
Waia Reserva Sagrada |
Colombia |
We Are the Solution |
Senegal |
West africa sea turtles conservation network |
Côte d’Ivoire |
WFDFFM |
Indonesia |
Wild Webcap |
Australia |
Women’s Alliance MN |
United States |
WMW/ATPA |
Tunisie |
xermoladas |
Spain |
Youth talk |
RDC |
Yuva Kaushal Vikas Mandal |
India |
Zambian Alliance for Agroecology and Biodiversity |
Zambia |
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Oil activities in Murchison Falls National Park threaten Wildlife Conservation – AFIEGO study reveals.
Published
2 days agoon
July 25, 2024![](https://witnessradio.org/wp-content/uploads/photo-Afiego.png)
By Witness Radio team.
A study conducted by the Africa Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO) and its partners has revealed that oil development activities are threatening the existence of Wildlife conservation at Murchison Falls National Park (MFNP).
Uganda has 10 National Parks including Queen Elizabeth, Lake Mburo, Murchison Falls, Kidepo Valley, Kibale, Mount Elgon, Rwenzori Mountains, Semuliki, Mgahinga Gorilla, and Bwindi Impenetrable National Parks and are managed by Uganda Wildlife Authority, (UWA).
Murchison Falls National Park, one of the oldest and most visited national parks in Uganda, is highly attractive to tourists due to its rich biodiversity. According to the Ministry of Wildlife, Tourism, and Antiquities’ 2024 report, Murchison Falls National Park received the highest number of tourists among all the national parks in Uganda between 2019 and 2023.
Data from Ministry of Tourism shows that in 2023, the Murchison park received 141,335 visitors which is equivalent to 36.4% of the 387,914 tourists that visited Uganda’s ten national parks.
The 24-page document titled Murchison Falls National Park is dying: How oil activities, climate change, and poaching are negatively reshaping the Park’ reveals that the Tilenga oil project infrastructural development presents immense risks to Murchison Falls National Park.
The Tilenga Oil project, part of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) is operated by Total Energies E&P (U) B.V. According to the EACOP website, EACOP is being constructed in parallel with two upstream development projects known as Tilenga and Kingfisher respectively.
Between February and June 2024, AFIEGO and partners conducted research to assess the progress of the development of the Tilenga oil project infrastructure and to examine the impact of this infrastructure on biodiversity.
In Murchison Falls National Park, oil sector infrastructure such as drilling rigs, well pads, flowlines, pipelines, roads, and others are being developed to enable commercial oil production by TotalEnergies under the Tilenga oil project.
Findings reveal that there has been progress in developing oil sector infrastructure in park assessed through satellite images. According to the study analysis of May 2024, satellite imagery shows rapid development of the tens of well pads and clearing for roads and the pipeline network inside the park.
The progress in oil development has had chilling effects on humans and biodiversity. Findings from the study expressed growing concern and fear towards light pollution, increased poaching risks, and increased motorization. Elephants are invading different areas of residence because of vibrations from the oil rig.
Among the impacts seen is the escape of wild animals from the park and the killing of people neighboring it. The study reveals that between 2023 and April 2024 in Buliisa district, five people have been killed by elephants. Oil host communities that live around the Park reported that elephants are moving from the Park and are invading communities destroying croplands and killing people.
According to experts in the study, the elephants could feel the vibrations from the drilling rig in their feet which causes them to move away from the Park and into communities.
The study also noted that the Tilenga oil project drilling rig is responsible for increasing light pollution in the Park and the surrounding communities. The light from the rig can be seen at long distances up to 13.9km away. Concerns were raised by this research’s respondents, who observed that the feeding and other patterns of nocturnal and light-sensitive wildlife could be negatively impacted by the rig’s light pollution. Such wildlife includes leopards, lions, birds, and others. These could migrate from the Park, or suffer worse impacts such as death.
Away from the above, the study observed that the paved roads that have been constructed in Park to support the Tilenga oil project activities have opened it up to more motorised traffic exposing wildlife to poaching, accidents as well as noise and air pollution.
Furthermore, Well-pads are located an estimated 950 and 750 metres respectively from the Murchison Falls-Albert Delta Ramsar Site in Park which is an Important Birding Area and important spawning ground for the Lake Albert fisheries.
“The development of good pads near the Ramsar site has been implicated in risking the conservation of aquatic biodiversity such as water birds especially the vulnerable Shoebill, fishes, and mammals like the hippopotamus” the study mentioned.
Additionally, the development of well pads and other oil sector infrastructure were also implicated in increasing the human population in Park. “The presence of human beings has been shown to lead to avoidance by wildlife, especially larger mammalian predators, of areas where human beings are. Wildlife such as the Uganda Kob was said to be slowly acclimatizing to the human presence and can be found near oil sector workers”. The study revealed.
Also, it pins oil activities in the Northern sector of the Park where the rig that will drill the Jobiri wells is located, the Northern side is characterized by savanna vegetation hosting more wildlife than the Southern sector, endangering the conservation of the savanna grasslands. According to experts in the study, predators such as lions, hyenas, leopards, and others also prefer to live in the Northern sector of the Park where they can easily access prey among others.
This study was released barely a few weeks after a group of 828 civil society organizations (CSOs) led by Afiego, oil host communities, fisherfolk, small-scale farmers as well as tour and travel operators, and other individuals from Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) petitioned President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to stop the ongoing TotalEnergies’ oil drilling in Murchison Falls National Park and its planned deployment of a second oil rig in the Park.
The petition followed reports that Total Energies E&P (U) B.V. was sweet-talking the President to allow them to deploy the second rig in the Park following the Petroleum Authority of Uganda’s (PAU) refusal, to allow them to deploy another oil rig in the Park over biodiversity conservation concerns.
As Total looks to add more oil rigs escalating the impacts, the recent study reveals that its current infrastructural projects—including oil rigs, well pads, pipelines, and roads—continue to cause negative impacts on biodiversity conservation in the Park.
In a bid to strengthen biodiversity conservation, the research study recommends that TotalEnergies and the Ugandan government stop all oil exploitation activities in the Park and calls for the intervention of the United Nations (UN), Ramsar secretariat, and UNESCO World Heritage Committee to engage the Ugandan government to stop the oil activities in Park.
Furthermore, the Ugandan government and development partners called upon to support the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) in addressing risks such as climate change, poaching, and human-wildlife conflicts that are endangering the conservation of vital wildlife that supports the multi-billion tourism and other industries in Uganda.
The Uganda Wildlife Authority refused to comment on the study findings. The spokesperson of the Authority Mr. Bashir Hangi in an interview with Witness Radio said he was unable to comment on its contents.
“We haven’t read the detailed report and cannot comment on its contents. Allow us to read the report,” he wrote in a WhatsApp text message to Witness Radio.
Dr. Patricia Litho Kevin, the Assistant Commissioner for Communication in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, acknowledged that there are potential risks associated with oil exploration and production, a reason why they established robust regulations, monitoring mechanisms, and contingency plans to prevent and respond to any environmental incidents.
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A Financial gap: Can China be stopped from financing the EACOP?
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The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) faces a financial hole. Numerous Western banks and insurers have already bailed out – meanwhile, the pipeline construction is in full swing. The shareholders seem confident that they will be able to finance the project. And Chinese banks, in particular, are coming into play.
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The program was first broadcast in Germany, and Witness Radio is bringing you the same program in the English version.
Südnordfunk is partnering with Witness Radio to shed light on the different ways the construction of the EACOP pipeline is and will be affecting people, the resettlement programs, evictions, the socio-ecological consequences, and the entanglements of European politics.
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NEMA suspend operations to evict the World Bank project-affected community and other residents accused of being located in wetlands.
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July 22, 2024![](https://witnessradio.org/wp-content/uploads/NEMA.-1.jpg)
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The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has halted all evictions in the Kawaala Zone II and Nabweru villages until community petitions protesting against the evictions are heard. Witness Radio has learned.
This decision to halt the evictions followed several petitions by hundreds of residents affected by the Lubigi wetland restoration exercise. In June, the residents from the two villages petitioned NEMA, seeking a review of the eviction orders issued by evictors and compensation for those whose properties got demolished.
Some of the petitioners are waiting to receive compensation after signing a remedy agreement from a mediation process facilitated by the World Bank’s Dispute Resolution Services (DRS).
In one of their petitions, the World Bank project affected community accused NEMA of hiding behind the Lubigi restoration exercise to deny them compensation for their land which was earmarked for Lubigi drainage expansion, that they had been waiting for over a year.
Since June 2024, many residents in Kawaala Zone II, Nansana, Nabweru, and other villages have forcefully been evicted from their land, while others have faced eviction threats from NEMA claiming these residents encroached on Lubigi wetland.
However, victims have contested NEMA claims, asserting that they have not infringed on wetlands. Some residents claim to have land ownership titles issued by the government of Uganda, while others are tenants of the Buganda Land Board from whom they have been paying ground rent. It is on these grounds that they petitioned the NEMA.
Addressing the affected residents, their lawyers, and village leaders at NEMA offices in Kampala, Dr. Akankwasah Barirenga, the Executive Director of NEMA, confirmed that NEMA was in receipt of several partitions and stated that the authority will hear all communities’ petitions. He further emphasized that no one should be evicted or disturbed from their land until all petitions are heard.
According to NEMA, it has received 137 petitions, and a final decision on whether to evict or not will be made upon completion of hearings.
“No one is going to evict you from your homes before the completion of the hearing of your petitions. After hearing these petitions, you will be informed of the decisions. If it is established that the petitions have substance, the tribunal will decide based on what has been heard,” Dr. Akankwasah revealed
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