Following the disasters that have hit and claimed lives in Bududa district, the authouritie have embarked on growing bamboo trees as a way of averting future calamities.
The district in partnership with International Network for Bamboo and Rottan organization (INBAR), launched a campaign of Bamboo growing to prevent the soils from being eroded.
Over 2000 bamboo trees have so far been planted across the sub counties that that are more prone to landslides within the district in a campaign that is intended to reforest the district but also prevent the locals from encroaching on the Mt Elgon forest for Bamboo shoots locally known as Maleewa.
With Uganda and Bududa in particular losing hundreds of hectares of forest cover due to population pressure and illegal logging, both public and individual efforts have become key to restoring the degraded land.
Bamboo is best known for its strength and durability and it is one of the fastest growing trees which easily restore the degraded areas.
Michael Malingha, the National coordinator of International Network for Bamboo and Rottan -INBAR an organization spearheading the growing of the bamboo trees in bududa district says they intend to provide Bamboo seedlings to the locals in the 28 Sub Counties that make up Bududa district but beginning with seven that are most hit by landslides mainly targeting river banks.
Malingah who was speaking during the launch of the campaign in Bududa district early this week said the planting of the bamboo trees will provide an opportunity to fight climate change which is behind the increasing disasters like landslides and floods in the Elgon sub region.
In Uganda, most of the Bamboo is found in protected areas like in the Mout Elgon national Park. This has quite often sparked conflicts between the community and the Uganda Wild life Authority. But Malingha says that they want to domesticate the growing of the bamboo such that it is found in all homes something that can avert the conflicts where people encroach on the National Parks in search for the bamboo shoots for a delicacy.
“We want to domesticate the growing of the bamboo because it is only found in the National park only o people fight with the UWA officials over the same” e said.
Dr. Selim Reza, the Regional programs Manager for INBAR explains that in the first phase they are focusing on capacity building of the locals and establishing Bamboo nursery beds in the selected seven Sub Counties before rolling out to the whole district.
“Bududa receives a lot of rain which makes the movement of soils easy, so the bamboo can easily hold the soils from moving” Reza said.
The state minister for Karamoja affairs Agness Nandutu who also doubles as the Bududa district woman Member of Parliament says that her district has for many years suffered the effects of the degraded environment.
She said that she is now confident that the growing of Bamboo will help to curb those effects but also be planted a long side coffee hence enhancing house hold incomes of the locals.
“My district is one of those that are affected by disasters especially the landslides because of the bare grounds. the planting of the bamboo will help in this problem but also improve the social welbeing of the people as they will be selling” she said.
Godfrey Francis Sukye, is a resident of Bushika Sub County in Bududa district. Sukye says that they intend to grow the bamboo along the river banks noting the sub county is a sub county prone to landslides which have led to loss of lives and displacement of many people.
“This is a sign that the minister is committed to helping her people, we thank her for bring us the people who have provided us with the bamboo tree seedlings which we we thin will help in curbing the increasing landslides that have killed our people and displaced many more others” he noted.
Bosco Mukumba, another farmer within the district says that there is need to have the bamboo trees planted on the entire mountain to stop the soils from eroding.
“I am happy the minister has intervened in the fight against climate change but we want more of these bamboo trees to help cover the entire district to help curb the erosion that takes place especially along river manafwa” he said.
