water hyacinth

In the parts where fishing is allowed, water hyacinth is taking over and spreading to parts of the river with rare insects.

River Nile is one of Uganda’s most popular sites for tourists. However, the waters and wildlife that make it so attractive are in trouble because of the activities taking place especially on the banks. We explore some of these activities and what measures are in place to preserve the river

Peter Ojara weeds his vegetable garden on the banks of River Nile in Mubaku village in Nguedo Sub-county.

The 48-year-old peasant farmer in Buliisa District is pleased with the yields he obtains from the one-acre garden of tomatoes and cabbages.

“I get food and some income to look after my family from this garden,” he says with a smile.
What he is not aware of, however, is that he is degrading the river.

“I do not know that this is a protected area. I have never seen any government official telling me to vacate this area,”Ojara who confesses growing crops on the river banks every season says.

Ojara is among the several residents of Buliisa District who have encroached on the banks of the world’s longest river which provides a main livelihood to millions of people in Uganda and the other 10 countries along the Nile course.

The Nile is one of the world’s longest rivers, traversing 6,695 kilometres as it journeys from its farthest source at the headwaters of the Kagera Basin to its delta in Egypt. The river which flows through the Murchison Falls National Park also divides Buliisa and Nwoya districts.

River Nile is one of the tourist attractions to Uganda and provides a habitat for various plants, wild animals and birds, especially around the Nile Delta, which has been gazetted as a Ramsar site.

Ramsar sites are wetlands which have been recognised for their “fundamental ecological functions and their economic, cultural, scientific, and recreational values”, as the 1971 Ramsar Convention states. The delta is one of the 17 locations along the River Nile Basin that have been designated as international Ramsar sites.

“It is, however, unfortunate that some residents encroach on the river and poach on endemic fish, birds and animal species” the acting Buliisa District natural resources officer, Benard Tugume, observes.

Besides growing crops on the river banks, some residents have cut down trees which were along the riverine forest, he adds.
He observes that there are also some who have set up temporary settlements adjacent to the river, contrary to the environmental laws and policies.

“Those who have planted crops on the banks of the river spray them and the pesticides kill some insects in the river,” the Buliisa District acting environment officer, Philip Ngongaha, says.

He said there are also some residents who use the water of the river to make bricks within the buffer area of the river.

All the different forms of encroachment are threatening the river, causing it to silt while also reducing water levels.

“Partly as a consequence of human activities, the area of forest in the Nile countries shrank by proportions ranging from 4 to 39 per cent between 1990 and 2008,” the report reads in part.

According to the United Nations Population Division (medium variant projection), the total population in the 11 Nile Basin countries will reach 647 million by 2030, which represents an increase of 52 per cent from the Population in 2010