Government launches sustainable environment project

The Ugandan government on Tuesday launched a US $24 million, five-year sustainable environment management programme, the semi-official ‘New Vision’ reported. The government-owned newspaper quoted Minister of State for Lands, Water and the Environment Maria Mutagamba as saying Ugandans had recklessly destroyed the environment, exacerbating the problem of drought-related hunger in the country. “If we don’t control our land, we shall end up importing food. This problem is enhanced by the lack of coordination among the National Environmental Management Authority [NEMA] staff, and not lack of manpower,” she said. NEMA has said it only has the resources to employ one environment officer per district, which, it says, is insufficient, the ‘New Vision’ reported. The government had contributed US $2 million to the predominantly World Bank-funded sustainable environment project, it added.