Wetlands

NEMA in collaboration with other Government Agencies to restore degraded wetlands to improve water filtration, increase biodiversity, and buffer against floods. Evictions, prosecution and fining of wetland degraders in addition to requiring them to restore through restoration orders were issued to degraders. With these efforts, the country’s wetland cover has appreciated from 8.9% in 2019 to now 9.3% of national land surface.

To date, Uganda has gazetted 8,613 wetlands as of 2023. 

• Total size of Uganda's wetland is approx. 33,762.06km2 ~13.9% of Uganda’s surface area. 
• 22,457.4km2 ~ 9.3% is intact. 
• approx. 11,305.1km2 ~ 4.7% of Uganda’s surface area is considered degraded as of 2021 national wetlands mapping.
• approx. 2,500 Km2 out of 116,431.46 Km2 has been demarcated across the country covering the following wetland systems: Aswa/Achwa wetland system; Awoja, Enyau, Kibimba, Mayanja, Lumbuye, Mpanga, Muszizi, Tochi and Sezibwa-Lwajali. 

Enforcement capacity of NEMA is being progressively strengthened by the Government including the establishment of the Environmental Protection Force (EPF).

The Authority has continued with awareness and restoration of wetlands across the country. However Uganda has experienced reduction in wetland coverage, decreasing by 15.6% from 37,575 km² in 1994 to 13% in 2017 and 13.9% in 2021.

Restorations

Some of the wetland systems where NEMA carried out restoration efforts includes Lubigi Wetland system (486Ha), Kanyabuhura Wetland (26.7Ha) in Rwampara district, Kyanja Wetland (8.09Ha) in Nakawa, and Lwajjali Wetland system (1.2Ha) in Seeta, Mukono. A total of 1,598 hectares of degraded wetland systems were restored in FY2023/2024.