The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), with support from the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, Uganda People’s Defence Forces and the Police Force is conducting
an operation against illegal sand mining in Lwera Wetland.
The operation has so far resulted in arrest of several suspects and impoundment of equipment, including nine dredgers, four boats, a sand sieving machine, four generators, six engines, three generators, four excavators, two compressors, excavator buckets; electrical wire rolls, three cylinders, and three big trucks.
Unregulated sand mining in sensitive ecosystems such as wetlands may lead to erosion, salination of aquifers, loss of protection against storm surges and impacts on biodiversity, which pose a threat to livelihoods through, among other things, water supply, food production, fisheries, or to the tourism industry.
In fulfilling its mandate and implementing the Presidential Directive against wetland and environment degradation, NEMA is conducting similar operations in the country to ensure that the environment is conserved.
To halt further degradation of wetlands in the country, NEMA indefinitely suspended issuance of permits and certificates for developments in wetlands effective 2nd September, 2021.
The Authority reiterates its commitment to protect the environment in Uganda through continued monitoring and surveillance of all fragile ecosystems for sustained compliance.