By THE OBSERVER UG
Environmental conservationists under the Save Bugoma Forest Campaign (SBFC) have rejected the recently released forest boundary opening report by the Ministry of Lands.
The conservationists argue that the report fails to provide a definitive finding on whether Hoima Sugar Limited encroached on Bugoma Central Forest Reserve land or not. SBFC comprises forest host communities, civil society organizations, and private sector entities whose main objective is to defend Bugoma Forest from land grabbing, sugarcane growing, and oil threats.
In 2019, the cabinet issued a directive to the Ministry of Water and Environment to open the boundaries of Bugoma Forest as a means of resolving the land disputes it faces. The directive included the task of opening the forest boundaries to determine whether Hoima Sugar Limited encroached on the forest land and to resolve other pending boundary verification exercises ordered by the court to ensure forest conservation.
According to the report, Hoima Sugar is the lawful owner of over 5,000 hectares of land, which was granted by Bunyoro kingdom. However, the report does not indicate whether this land falls under the forest reserve. For the 20 individuals claiming customary ownership of land given to them by the kingdom, the report reveals that this land falls within the forest reserve.
The report also states that Bugoma Forest spans a total land area of 39,000 hectares, not 41,000 hectares as previously claimed. Dickens Kamugisha, chairperson of Save Bugoma Forest Campaign, criticized the report for relying on illegally obtained certificates of registrations, an illegal Environmental Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) certificate, the search statement, and court judgments to conclude that Hoima Sugar Ltd is utilizing land leased to it by the Omukama of Bunyoro Kitara kingdom, without determining whether that land is within the Bugoma Central Forest Reserve gazetted area.
“While we appreciate the effort, we note that it falls short of expectations and does not resolve the issue at hand. Instead, it appears to validate the illegal land grab of the forest land. The government’s failure to definitively address the encroachment issue is concerning. We urge a thorough investigation to ensure Bugoma Forest’s conservation,” Kamugisha stated.
Kamugisha added that they want the government to redo the boundary survey and ensure that the survey team includes independent observers. The survey was conducted by the Department of Surveys and Mapping under the Ministry of Lands, which Kamugisha claims its commissioner testified in court in 2016 that Hoima Sugar land was not part of the forest, therefore questioning how a report now states otherwise.
Geofrey Twesigye, the executive director of Water and Environment Media Network (WEMNET), announced plans to petition communities in the Bunyoro region to express dissatisfaction with the report and demand another independent survey identifying specific areas of encroachment and the parties involved.
However, Twesigye noted that they are engaging with the Ministries of Lands and Water and Environment to take action against individuals found to have encroached on the forest land, emphasizing that Bunyoro Kitara kingdom lacks authority to allocate land in a central forest reserve.
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