Uganda: Wetlands dry up as rice demand soars

3 Jun 2010

Uganda's wetlands - lying in Dokho, three kilometres from the Eastern Uganda town of Mbale have provided drainage and prevented flooding during rainy seasons for centuries. Communities living in these areas traditionally depended on food crops like cassava, millet, maize grain and bananas.

Now rice is rapidly replacing those to become the food of choice. Sadly, that favorite food is also becoming an environmental liability as planting it threatens to destroy the fragile wetlands. And in the face of changing weather patterns, it has become clear that Uganda must find a solution - and quick.

Emmanuel Okella, an independent environmental journalist and contributor to Radio Simba in Uganda, finds how a local initiative is trying to ensure that rice remains on the menu without destroying the environment.

Listen to Okella's audio clip on www.panos.org.uk.

Source: Panos London

Panos London promotes the participation of poor and marginalised people in national and international development debates through media and communication projects. It is part of the worldwide Panos Network of independent institutes working to ensure that information is used more effectively to foster debate, pluralism and democracy.

Go to: http://www.panos.org.uk