Ten billion shillings needed to save River Rwizi
Environmental experts say that up to ten billion shillings is required to protect the River Rwizi catchment area annually.
The money is to fund technical as well as psychosocial interventions in the 16 districts of southwestern and central Uganda through which the river passes.
This was revealed by experts from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Victoria Water Management Zone under the Ministry of Water and Environment, during the issuance of the progress report on the intervention program to save River Rwizi, which started in 2019.
River Rwizi provides a livelihood to the population in 16 districts of southwestern and central regions and has had its water levels reduced due to illegal human activities along its banks.
Environmentalists have been warning that the trend of river bank encroachment and wetland degradation if not reversed would lead to the extinction of River Rwizi and its tributaries.
Ivan Tumuhimbise, the WWF Country Head for Uganda, said that the first two phases of the program were about boundary markings, as well as mobilizing communities along the river.He adds that the marked boundaries include nature-based initiatives like tree planting to avoid river silting.
