Senior Reporter
Simon Peter Weredwong, the Conservation Program Manager at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), has disclosed that the primary aim of planting bamboo trees along the River Rwizi is to stabilize the environment, particularly the ecosystems, while simultaneously bolstering the economic resilience of communities living along the riverbanks.
Weredwong made these revelations during a two-day monitoring, inspection, and replanting exercise aimed at restoring degraded ecosystems along the River Rwizi in southwestern Uganda. In a thirteen-kilometer stretch, approximately thirteen thousand trees will be planted along the river.
Accompanying the WWF team were various implementing partners involved in the river’s restoration, including Nile Breweries Limited Uganda, the Water and Environment Ministry, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), and regional and local government representatives from Rwampara district and Mbarara city.
Weredwong emphasized that WWF’s mission is to plant trees capable of halting environmental degradation, fostering human-nature harmony. He underscored the importance of each tree, which serves specific purposes such as medicine, firewood, construction timber, or security.
Emmanuel Njuki, Head of Legal and Corporate Affairs at Nile Breweries Limited, a global beer company, explained their participation in the tree planting program in collaboration with WWF and NEMA. Their goal is to reinforce their commitment to biodiversity and ensure the restoration of the River Rwizi for reliable water supply. Njuki highlighted the strategic planting of bamboo in the river’s buffer zone for its rapid regeneration and its role in creating a protective barrier between the riverbank and community activities.
Njuki urged all stakeholders utilizing water body boundaries for farming, grazing, or construction, especially along the River Rwizi, to maintain a distance of at least one hundred meters from the shore or plant trees to prevent siltation of the water body.
Rev. Christopher Matsiko of Kakigani Parish Church of Uganda, Kinoni Archdeaconry, Ankole Diocese, expressed gratitude to WWF for their environmental stewardship and guidance on vacating wetlands, providing viable income-generating alternatives. He noted the positive impact of livestock provision, enhancing fertilizer quality and milk production, thus improving nutrition and income for Christians.
Rev. Matsiko also commended WWF’s collaboration with NEMA, emphasizing the importance of environmental protection in glorifying God’s name.
