Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The National Forestry Authority-NFA has revealed that there are 703 illegal land titles in different forest reserves.
According to Stuart Maniraguha, the Acting Executive Director of NFA, the discoveries were made between last month and the beginning of August during the process to ascertain the extent of forest degradation.
“Recently, we have been battling with challenges of illegal land claims that have resulted in illegal land titles. As I speak, we have already identified, within a very short time, 703 titles in Central Forest Reserves,” said Maniraguha in a media interview during the Uganda Biodiversity Fund 8th anniversary celebrations in Kampala.
According to Maniraguha, all the titles were submitted to the Ministry of Lands for verification, and the first batch of 438 were confirmed to be located in forest reserves.
He said the titles are mainly located in forests in Wakiso, Kayunga and Kampala.
“We are finding that the biggest threat is found within eight districts of central Uganda. These are Kampala, Wakiso, Kayunga, Buikwe, Buvuma, Mpigi, Butambala, and Luwero,” he noted.
Maniraguha said that NFA is working with the Ministry of Lands to cancel the titles, open forest reserve boundaries, and upload the information into the land management information systems to avoid future contestation from land officers.
Last year Members of Parliament tasked the Ministry of Water and Environment to withdraw more than 1,000 land titles illegally created on various forest reserves across the country.
It followed a report that natural forests in central reserves that include; Bugoma Forest, Mabira Forest in Lugazi, Kisisiro and Namazina Forests in Buikwe, Namyooya, Namamve in Mukono, Kiwula, and Wamaale in Kayunga District have been encroached on.
Others are; Mbarara Central Forest Reserve, Bugomba and Kitubulu in Wakiso, Lutoboka Central Forest Reserve in Kalangala, Lira Central Forest Reserve, Rwamunda and Walumanyi in Mpigi, Luweero and Butebe, Kabarole, Kiboga and Masaka reserve forests are all endangered.
The MPs blamed the rampant encroachment on selective justice against encroachers by the National Environment Management Authority – NEMA and NFA.
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