SPECIAL REPORTS AND PROJECTS
Gov’t cancels 300 titles in wetlands
Published
4 years agoon
![](https://witnessradio.org/wp-content/uploads/ministerwater.jpg)
Minister of Water and Environment Sam Cheptoris addressing the media during press conference at Uganda Media Centre on January 29, 2020.Photo by Ramadhan Abbey
Land titles that were obtained after 1995 have been cancelled and about 300 land titles have been cancelled so far.
KAMPALA – The Ministry of Lands has cancelled 300 land titles in wetlands following a directive by Cabinet, according to Lucy Iyango, assistant Commissioner for wetlands in the Ministry of Water and Environment.
“Land titles that were obtained after 1995 have been cancelled and about 300 land titles have been cancelled so far,” she said.
She was speaking at the Uganda Media Center in Kampala during the press conference presided over by Sam Cheptoris, the Minister of Water and Environment ahead of the commemoration of the World Wetlands Day.
The Day is celebrated globally on 2nd February but the national celebrations will be held on February 7th at Bumbaire sub-County in Bushenyi under the theme, “Wetlands and Biodiversity”.
![anyama ilberforce senior etland officer inistry of ater and nvironment ucy yanga ssistant ommissioner inistry of ater and nvironment chats with the am heptoris inister of ater and nvironment after addressing media at ganda ganda edia entre his was on anuary 29 2020hoto by amadhan bbey](https://www.newvision.co.ug/w-images/e66dce05-5ef8-4ae9-a1d3-2bc892461d93/1/minister2-650x426.jpg)
Iyango the Commissioner under the Wetland Management Department in the Ministry of Water and Environment said that the wetland cover has declined from 13% in 1994 to 8.9% currently which is about 4,500 hectares of wetland lost.
Degradation highest in South Western
She also said South Western Uganda is at the top of the list of wetland degraders followed by Central region where Kampala city is sitting.
In terms of wetlands destroyed, papyrus swamps have suffered more than any other wetland but in eastern Uganda, the seasonal wetlands.
Restoration efforts
She added that their key mission is to restore the lost hectors and are undertaking restoration activities countrywide like Lubigi wetland, some areas in Kansanga and Kyetinda wetlands have been restored.
Cheptoris thanked the president for his tireless effort in educating the masses about the importance of wetlands and sourcing for funding from the Green Climate Fund to support wetland restoration in Uganda.
“Wetlands provide us with ecosystem services such as food, water, mitigating climate change and disease spread, nutrient recycling oxygen production and cultural values worth USD $47 trillion annually more than those from forests, deserts or grasslands, “Cheptoris said.
He also pointed out that wetlands provide sanctuary to water birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles and plant species during important stages by providing roosting, nesting and feeding habitats as well as a refuge during extreme weather conditions.
Cheptoris said that wetlands have a number of environmental and social values arising from biodiversity which provide essential services to our communities and also build resilience, provide livelihoods for 1 billion people and purify water.
He, however, noted that people have gone ahead to degrade wetlands which has led to the flooding of Kampala roads and pollution of water bodies since they are no wetlands to filter the water and urged them to be mindful of human activities that degrade wetlands.
“Wetlands are property of Uganda but sadly, the rich in Kampala refuse to be evicted from wetlands and go ahead to drag them to court which frustrates our work “Sam explained.
“All is not lost, the Ministry of Water and Environment is working with its partners to reverse wetland degradation that has been rife in Uganda and some of its strategies are, restoration of degraded areas and protection of wetlands worldwide. “Cheptoris added.
Cheptoris said that they have supported communities to set up projects like fish farming, irrigation schemes, and beekeeping reducing people encroaching on wetlands. This has provided alternative livelihood.
He said this is being done in 12 districts in eastern Uganda and 12 in western Uganda making a total of 24 districts across the country. Cheptoris said initiatives at Limoto wetland in Pallisa have been outstanding and that this is being replicated in other districts.
DEFENDING LAND AND ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS
Statement: The Energy Sector Strategy 2024–2028 Must Mark the End of the EBRD’s Support to Fossil Fuels
Published
10 months agoon
September 27, 2023![](https://witnessradio.org/wp-content/uploads/statement.png)
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is due to publish a new Energy Sector Strategy before the end of 2023. A total of 130 civil society organizations from over 40 countries have released a statement calling on the EBRD to end finance for all fossil fuels, including gas.
From 2018 to 2021, the EBRD invested EUR 2.9 billion in the fossil energy sector, with the majority of this support going to gas. This makes it the third biggest funder of fossil fuels among all multilateral development banks, behind the World Bank Group and the Islamic Development Bank.
The EBRD has already excluded coal and upstream oil and gas fields from its financing. The draft Energy Sector Strategy further excludes oil transportation and oil-fired electricity generation. However, the draft strategy would continue to allow some investment in new fossil gas pipelines and other transportation infrastructure, as well as gas power generation and heating.
In the statement, the civil society organizations point out that any new support to gas risks locking in outdated energy infrastructure in places that need investments in clean energy the most. At the same time, they highlight, ending support to fossil gas is necessary, not only for climate security, but also for ensuring energy security, since continued investment in gas exposes countries of operation to high and volatile energy prices that can have a severe impact on their ability to reach development targets. Moreover, they underscore that supporting new gas transportation infrastructure is not a solution to the current energy crisis, given that new infrastructure would not come online for several years, well after the crisis has passed.
The signatories of the statement call on the EBRD to amend the Energy Sector Strategy to
- fully exclude new investments in midstream and downstream gas projects;
- avoid loopholes involving the use of unproven or uneconomic technologies, as well as aspirational but meaningless mitigation measures such as “CCS-readiness”; and
- strengthen the requirements for financial intermediaries where the intended nature of the sub-transactions is not known to exclude fossil fuel finance across the entire value chain.
Source: iisd.org
Download the statement: https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-09/ngo-statement-on-energy-sector-strategy-2024-2028.pdf
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SPECIAL REPORTS AND PROJECTS
Will more sovereign wealth funds mean less food sovereignty?
Published
1 year agoon
April 13, 2023![](https://witnessradio.org/wp-content/uploads/Government-Vedder-Highsmith-detail-1.jpg)
- 45% of Louis Dreyfus Company, with its massive land holdings in Latin America, growing sugarcane, citrus, rice and coffee;
- a majority stake in Unifrutti, with 15,000 ha of fruit farms in Chile, Ecuador, Argentina, Philippines, Spain, Italy and South Africa; and
- Al Dahra, a large agribusiness conglomerate controlling and cultivating 118,315 ha of farmland in Romania, Spain, Serbia, Morocco, Egypt, Namibia and the US.
Sovereign wealth funds invested in farmland/food/agriculture (2023)
|
|||
Country
|
Fund
|
Est.
|
AUM (US$bn)
|
China
|
CIC
|
2007
|
1351
|
Norway
|
NBIM
|
1997
|
1145
|
UAE – Abu Dhabi
|
ADIA
|
1967
|
993
|
Kuwait
|
KIA
|
1953
|
769
|
Saudi Arabia
|
PIF
|
1971
|
620
|
China
|
NSSF
|
2000
|
474
|
Qatar
|
QIA
|
2005
|
450
|
UAE – Dubai
|
ICD
|
2006
|
300
|
Singapore
|
Temasek
|
1974
|
298
|
UAE – Abu Dhabi
|
Mubadala
|
2002
|
284
|
UAE – Abu Dhabi
|
ADQ
|
2018
|
157
|
Australia
|
Future Fund
|
2006
|
157
|
Iran
|
NDFI
|
2011
|
139
|
UAE
|
EIA
|
2007
|
91
|
USA – AK
|
Alaska PFC
|
1976
|
73
|
Australia – QLD
|
QIC
|
1991
|
67
|
USA – TX
|
UTIMCO
|
1876
|
64
|
USA – TX
|
Texas PSF
|
1854
|
56
|
Brunei
|
BIA
|
1983
|
55
|
France
|
Bpifrance
|
2008
|
50
|
UAE – Dubai
|
Dubai World
|
2005
|
42
|
Oman
|
OIA
|
2020
|
42
|
USA – NM
|
New Mexico SIC
|
1958
|
37
|
Malaysia
|
Khazanah
|
1993
|
31
|
Russia
|
RDIF
|
2011
|
28
|
Turkey
|
TVF
|
2017
|
22
|
Bahrain
|
Mumtalakat
|
2006
|
19
|
Ireland
|
ISIF
|
2014
|
16
|
Canada – SK
|
SK CIC
|
1947
|
16
|
Italy
|
CDP Equity
|
2011
|
13
|
China
|
CADF
|
2007
|
10
|
Indonesia
|
INA
|
2020
|
6
|
India
|
NIIF
|
2015
|
4
|
Spain
|
COFIDES
|
1988
|
4
|
Nigeria
|
NSIA
|
2011
|
3
|
Angola
|
FSDEA
|
2012
|
3
|
Egypt
|
TSFE
|
2018
|
2
|
Vietnam
|
SCIC
|
2006
|
2
|
Gabon
|
FGIS
|
2012
|
2
|
Morocco
|
Ithmar Capital
|
2011
|
2
|
Palestine
|
PIF
|
2003
|
1
|
Bolivia
|
FINPRO
|
2015
|
0,4
|
AUM (assets under management) figures from Global SWF, January 2023
|
|||
Engagement in food/farmland/agriculture assessed by GRAIN
|
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SPECIAL REPORTS AND PROJECTS
Farmland values hit record highs, pricing out farmers
Published
2 years agoon
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Oil activities in Murchison Falls National Park threaten Wildlife Conservation – AFIEGO study reveals.
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A Financial gap: Can China be stopped from financing the EACOP?
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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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Farmers count losses as dry spell scorches maize gardens
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Sexual violence as a tool to grab land: a local woman accuses industrial agriculture investor Agilis Partners Limited of sexual violence.
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Thirty-six (36) groups from all over the world have written to industrial agriculture investors, Agilis Partners Limited to stop human rights violations/abuses against thousands of indigenous/local communities, settle grievances, and return the grabbed land.
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CSOs, oil host communities, and concerned citizens have petitioned the President of Uganda to stop oil drilling in the Murchison Falls National Park.
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Innovative Finance from Canada projects positive impact on local communities.
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Over 5000 Indigenous Communities evicted in Kiryandongo District
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Petition To Land Inquiry Commission Over Human Rights In Kiryandongo District
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