ALERT: Protest Plans to Destroy Uganda's Few Remaining Rainforests for Plantations
TAKE ACTION: Let the Ugandan President and Parliament know rainforests and their ecological services are more valuable than sugar and oil palm production
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is pursuing legally dubious plans to destroy much of Uganda's last few rainforests to grow palm oil and sugar cane crops. Uganda has long been facing a deforestation crisis, with forests covering 20 percent of Uganda 40 years ago, but now just covering seven percent. Loss of forest cover in Uganda has had devastating ecological impacts which will be intensified by the proposed projects. Deforestation has been directly responsible for declining levels of waters in Lake Victoria and the River Nile, resulting in a scarcity of drinking water and reduction in hydroelectric energy production. The whole matter seems to reflect a desperate power grab by the President to reward cronies under false and illusory promises of industrialization. The government has no legal mandate to give out constitutionally protected forest reserves to be cut down by private companies. Please contact President Yoweri Museveni, the entire Ugandan parliament, and Ugandan ministries and embassies and insist that these projects be abandoned, and Uganda's remaining rainforest strictly protected as ecological reserves while restoring forests where they historically occurred.
Comments
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/008200612151240.htm
Sci. & Tech.
Planting trees to save planet `pointless' say ecologists [should say has limited value, or should say, is diversionary to actual necessary methods, or should say, makes polluters - big businesses - feel good , etc. Has good further info.; bad headline and summary sentence. and one might think that if 6,525,170,300 people planted a tree near where they live it might have some good effect - no? N.]
By Alok Jha in San Francisco
GUARDIAN NEWS SERVICE: Planting trees to combat climate change is a waste of time,...etc
Posted by: Norma J F Harrison | December 15, 2006 3:15 PM
As was mentioned, the promises of industrialization are very convincing and tempting to said "cronies". What could be promised in place of that to convince them it is a bad idea, and that this new one is better? Because chances are they won't sell this one out for nothing.
Posted by: Ben | December 15, 2006 9:19 PM
please save our world by savin the forests
Posted by: Sandra Weatherby | December 19, 2006 9:51 PM
Cause and effect ia a natural law. Those undermine the law will meet calamity.
Posted by: SUN WONG | December 20, 2006 12:43 AM
Dear Glen:
I did send the proposed letter to the Ugandan President.
However, I suggest that preservation of rainforests is of interest to all of
humanity. Therefore, we should not burden financially the nation on who's
territories the rain forests are. The UN should have a fund to reimburse
the individual nations for preserving the rain forests.
I suggest a system of 'World Parks' on lands leased from the nations, and maintained and protected from logging and poaching by the UN.
Regards, Helmut
Posted by: Helmut | December 26, 2006 8:08 AM