Mary Kitutu the State Minister for Environment revealed to NTV that her Ministry needed more support from Uganda’s People Defense Forces if it was to properly protect Mabira Forest from encroachers and illegal loggers. According to the Minister, a total of 50 UPDF soldiers is required to work concurrently with the Police and Enforcement officials from the National Forestry Authority. “Like now the UPDF they would need to be somewhere because they normally come from the barracks to beef up the Rangers. I would need I think like 50, a team of 50 can do a good job. Because 20 given, and even that 20 would be effective but they normally walk on foot.” Said, Mary Kitutu – State Minister of Environment.

The Ministry is currently devising mechanisms for protecting the forest after NTV aired an investigative story that revealed widespread illegal logging and encroachment on the forest. “Now as a Ministry, I would want a special protection force specifically for these ecosystems; the forests and the wetlands. Because right now I have to rely on the Police and then I also have to rely sometimes on the UPDF but if I had a dedicated force like Uganda Wildlife Authority has, there I would hold them accountable.” On Thursday the Minister led officials from her Ministry and NFA on a fact-finding mission to the forest. Kitutu admitted that there is some illegal logging happening in the forest but said it was still minimal. “But when you move along the road, you are just on the southern tip of the forest and that’s where we have most of the enclaves and more disturbance actually. But when you go inside almost 80% of the forest is up.”

She also says the Ministry plans to first track the demarcation of all the forest reserves to save them from encroachment. “And that helps us to monitor titling of Central Forest Reserves because when a title falls then the surveyors will be able to see or the Ministry of Lands will be able to see that this land title is falling within the government or Public Land.” Environmentalists warned that the untamed deforestation and destruction of wetlands will have dire consequences on the country including frequent prolonged droughts.