The environmental challenges facing Uganda and the East African region are real. Unplanned natural resource exploitation by corrupt governments, criminal networks, bad governance, and changing rainfall patterns have negatively impacted the lives of millions of Africans. A nascent movement of environmentalists is now making their voices heard to reclaim their land, resources, and future. Now, author Tony Akaki adds his voice and perspective in addressing the unfolding environmental disaster by focusing on the Mabira Forest giveaway-a plan proposed by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to give nearly one-quarter of the Mabira Forest to the Sugar Corporation of Uganda (S.C.O.U.L.)- owned by the Mehta Group-to facilitate the growth of more sugarcane. Akaki raises all the issues regarding the impact on the environment, the potential to affect ecotourism, medical research on indigenous flora and fauna, the loss of rain supplying Lake Victoria, and the potential for environmental disaster with deforestation. He provides a powerful argument for saving the environment and fighting to preserve Uganda's forests and natural resources.

MABIRA FOREST GIVEAWAY

A Path to Degenerative DevelopmentBy TONY AKAKI

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 Tony Akaki
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4620-1728-7

Contents

Acronyms and Abbreviations......................................xvChapter 1 The Future Is Not a Gift.............................1Chapter 2 Precautionary Principle..............................13Chapter 3 Biological Diversity.................................24Chapter 4 Environmental Rage...................................33Chapter 5 Democracy............................................37Chapter 6 Sustainable Development..............................46Chapter 7 Toward a Knowledge-Based Economy.....................61Chapter 8 Conclusions..........................................79Bibliography....................................................85Index...........................................................89

Chapter One

THE FUTURE IS NOT A GIFT

The future is not a gift: it is an achievement. Every generation helps make its own future. This is the essential challenge of the present.

Robert F. Kennedy

The future is not a gift that the present generation or government can bequest to the following generations. International legal instruments often refer to the "rights of future generations." It is a fundamental right of each Ugandan generation to benefit from and enjoy the natural forests and cultural patrimony inherited from previous generations in such a manner that it can be passed on to future generations in no worse condition than it was received.

The 1972 Stockholm Declaration, which first formulated this principle, states, "Man ... bears a solemn responsibility to protect and improve the environment for present and future generations." President Museveni's government is obligated by international conventions to be custodian of today's environment and meet the developmental and environmental needs of present and future generations; avoid destroying Uganda's natural forests for short-term gain; and preserve for subsequent generations the use of Mabira forest.

In addressing the Mabira giveaway, it important to note the lack of any binding global treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of forests. Proposals for a convention that would regulate sustainable use of all types of forests were made during the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) but were opposed by some developing countries on the grounds that this would infringe on their sovereign rights to exploit such resources.

Five texts emerged from the Rio conference. Two came from conventions, the UN Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity. The third text is the "Non Legally Binding Authoritative Statement of Principles for a Global Consensus on the Management, Conservation and Sustainable Development of all Types of Forests." The last two texts are of a general nature and are the "Declaration on Environment and Development" and a program of action called Agenda 21.

The forty-chapter Agenda 21 has provisions relevant to forestry in chapter 11, whereby it details measures of dealing with all types of woodlands, forests, and forestlands, enhancing the sustainable management and conservation of all forests, and promoting efficient utilization and assessment with the aim of recovering the full valuation of goods and services by forests and forestlands.

The third text, "Nonlegally Binding Authoritative Statement of Principles for a Global Consensus on the Management, Conservation and Sustainable Development of All Types of Forests," is the first global instrument to apply to all types of forests. The text advocates the viewing of forestry issues within the context of sustainable development. It specifically calls for efforts to maintain and increase forest cover and productivity in ecological and economically sustainable ways.

Sustainable socioeconomic development is emphasized, as well as the promotion of participation of interested parties in developing national policies and outlining the rights of indigenous people. The Mabira giveaway repudiates any semblance of promoting sustainable development. It instead conjures up memories (and, some may say, current status) of the Uganda government's short-term exploitation of natural resources for private rather than public gain in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

A development path that is often exploitative socially, economically, and environmentally and benefits a small, privileged group has appropriately been termed "degenerative development." The NRM government has an infamous track record of pursuing degenerative policies that will impact future generations; the exploitation of neighboring countries is a case in point.

The DRC took Uganda to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing Uganda of exploiting its natural resources, including timber. The court decided in the DRC's favor, and Uganda is now obligated to pay the DRC $10 billion. Who will ultimately pay this money, if not the Ugandan taxpayer? Given the unacceptable levels of corruption and poor service delivery by the NRM government, a further burden of paying $10 billion to the DRC is unacceptable; the Ugandan people will surely demand reparation from those guilty for invading and illegally exploiting the DRC. A UN expert's report on the exploitation of DRC's natural resources also reinforces the case that the Uganda government cannot be trusted to exploit Uganda's natural resources in an economically transparent and ecologically sustainable way.

Uganda has also illegally exploited the forests of Eastern Equatoria State, in Sudan, during its Operation Iron Fist in March 2002. The operation was the UPDF's (Uganda Peoples Defence Forces) attempt to dislodge the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) from its bases in southern Sudan. But what became evident was the traffic of UPDF trucks loaded with timber (teak) crossing the border from Sudan into Uganda. The citizens of Uganda are now wary of government initiatives that are often disguised to benefit the nation as a whole but have often only benefited a small political or military clique.

Furthermore, the Mabira giveaway violates major global conventions of which Uganda is a signatory—namely, the United Nations Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

When environmentalists and other concerned citizens challenge the Mabira giveaway, they are branded "enemies of progress" by the president. What environmentalists are advocating is environmental justice in accordance with the 2003 African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (Algiers Convention). Its provisions are the most comprehensive of all agreements concerning natural resources. Article III, using language from the African Charter of Human and Peoples' Rights, articulates the principle that all peoples have a right to a satisfactory environment favorable to the enjoyment of the right to development; Article XVI further complements Article III by proclaiming procedural rights and access to justice in matters related to the protection of environment and natural resources.

The convention advocates the application of the precautionary principle "with due regard to ethical and traditional values as well as scientific knowledge in the interest of present and future generations." Many concerned citizens of Uganda are urging for the application of the precautionary principle as the bare minimum in regard to the Mabira giveaway.

The president put his position on the Mabira giveaway to the Ugandan people in a New Vision newspaper article of April 19, 2007 that appears below, opening up further discussions on the matter. Essentially, the challenge of the present is to ensure a future.

Why I Support Mabira Forest Give-Away to Mehta Group By Yoweri Museveni

You must have been following the controversy surrounding our decision to give some forest land to the manufacturers. There are three forest lands that have, so far, been given out to the manufacturers. These are:

- Some land in Kalangala for BIDCO, the palm oil project;

- Some forest land in Mabira for Mehta to expand his sugar operations; and

- Earlier on, we had given the planted forest at Namanve for an industrial park.

I have been involved in these land allocations. Why? It is on account of the urgent need for industrializing our very backward but rich country in terms of natural resources and raw materials. Our backwardness, at this stage, is on account of the absence of industries. In the past, our backwardness was due to many other factors: interfering with the private sector;

- Low level of literacy and education;

- Government monopolies in marketing in the form of Marketing Boards;

- A currency that was not convertible;

- Impassable roads;

- Insecurity of persons and property; etc.

The Movement has solved all these problems. To take one example, the Movement has expanded so much the education sector that we now have a very large number of university graduates floating on the streets without jobs. By 1986, Makerere University, the only university in the country at that time, used to graduate about two thousand persons each year. Today, that same Makerere graduates about ten thousand persons each year. This does not include those graduating from another seventeen universities (both government and private). How long shall we go on with this problem of educated people without jobs? This is, especially, a problem for parents who sponsor their own children. What help is the Government and the State institutions (Parliament, Civil Service, etc) giving to such parents when their children fail to get jobs after sacrificing so much to educate them through private sponsorship? How about millions of others who leave P.7, S.4 or S. 6? How can the leaders of the country take this issue in a leisurely way year after year?

Employment creation is one of my main interests when I support manufacturers, hotels, etc, in acquiring land. There are three other interests that we serve when we give manufacturers and hotels land. These are:

- Through value addition, increasing export earnings and import substitution (e.g producing sugar here instead of importing it);

- Expanding Government tax revenues because of either taxing the manufactured goods produced or (as a result of people who get jobs, while they were previously unemployed, paying indirect taxes through consumption of luxuries e.g beer, perfumes, buying expensive cars, etc – items that have taxes on them; and

- Providing markets for our raw materials produced by the farmers that just rot because of lack of processing e.g bananas, milk, etc.

The difference between Europe and, now, some of the Asian countries on the one hand and Africa on the other hand is precisely this. The others use factories to add value to their raw materials in order to get more money or even use the raw materials of those who are too uninformed to know the money lost through exporting raw materials while the Africans continue to bleed through this wrong strategy.

The problem of Africa is not lack of forests but lack of factories, hotels, real estate, professional services (e.g medical, financial, etc). UK, for instance, gets five billion pounds, through all of us using Heathrow Airport which is an example of a service industry.

Why should somebody traveling to America (North or South) go through London or Paris? Why not use Dakar? Look at the map. He / she does so because there are facilities at Heathrow that are not at Dakar. Previously agricultural land at Heathrow was converted into a modern airport. Those 1,391 acres that Heathrow occupies would not earn the UK five billion pounds, if they were still agricultural.

We therefore, need to balance the needs of preserving the eco-system with the needs for social transformation – changing the society from peasant to middle class, skilled working class society. This means that the majority of the people should shift from agriculture to industries and services. Having too many people in agriculture as we do now (82%), is one of the characteristics of backwardness. Countries like UK (population fifty-six million) or USA (population three hundred million) services have got only 2% of their population in agriculture respectively. The rest are in industries or services. Even newly industrialized countries like Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia, or Thailand, the portions of their populations which are still in agriculture are: 6%, 6.4%, 14.5%, and 49% respectively. This is why their societies are more prosperous than ours. Some of these countries used to produce some agricultural raw materials such as silk, tea, (e.g Japan) or palm oil (e.g Malaysia). Today, they either no longer do so or they are reducing the acreage under those crops. They have converted that land to industries and services. The gap between the industrialized countries and our backward countries, as I have told you many times, is big because industrial products fetch more money than raw materials.

Take the example of our own coffee. A kilogram of unprocessed coffee will bring US $1, while that same kg will fetch US $15 when it is processed in the Nestle factories in UK. Who, then, is aiding who? It is the same story for cotton. Failure to see this, yet we are in leadership of Africa today, is nothing short of treason. Our ignorant traditional chiefs caused our enslavement in the past; ignorant African elite are responsible for our continued enslavement today.

Let us, again, take one other example of employment. Madhvani at Kakira employs about six thousand five hundred persons. Suppose we had two thousand Madhvanis, we would be able to employ thirteen million people. The level of unemployment would be much less in Uganda. We would have to import labour from other countries like Japan does. People from other countries would be coming here for kyeyo. Therefore, obstructing investors or demonizing them as the pro-enemy press (The Monitor) is doing is, indeed, an enemy act – an act by those that do not want Uganda to transition from backwardness to modernity!

Why, then, use forest lands? This is because there is no free land. Much of the land is occupied by peasants who are engaged in traditional, subsistence farming. Both physically and legally we cannot access land. However, I have instructed Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) to slowly buying land in order to create a Land Bank for this purpose; but this is a slow process. We cannot wait for it. Otherwise, we shall lose opportunities which will be taken up by others. The king of business is the consumer – the one who buys from you. If you disappoint him, especially in export markets where there are many competitors, he will never buy from you again. This is why I have been using Government lands to fill this gap. I converted Namanve into an industrial park. When it is finished, it will accommodate about one thousand factories. One hundred seventy six (176) factories and enterprises have already applied for land there. Namanve will be a satellite town of Kampala. There is already the Coca-Cola factory there, in that area. It is already employing seven hundred persons. Therefore, these one thousand factories could employ seven hundred thousand persons. I used part of the prison land at Luzira. Already seventeen factories and enterprises have already been allocated that land! What a wastage it was to have 480 acres just being used by convicts to grow sweet potatoes (only sixty-two acres were given to UIA to allocate to the investors). How much does an acre of sweet potatoes bring in? How much money would the sixty-two acres of sweet potatoes bring in? How much will the seventeen enterprises now going to use the Luzira land going to bring in? How many Ugandans will be employed there? It is the answers to these rhetorical questions that guide my actions.

Then we have got potential goldmine – BIDCO. Uganda imports cooking oil and tallow (for making soap) worth US $47.7m per year. Palm trees are some of the source for these vegetable oils. The East African market for vegetable oil is worth US $700m. This chance came to us because Malaysia, on account of industrialization, no longer has land for growing palm plantations. Palm trees can only grow in lands that receive rainfalls of about 2,000 mm per annum. There are only a few areas like that in East Africa including Ssese Islands and Bundibugyo. I could not miss such a chance for my country. I ordered the responsible people to get 6,500 hectares (3,000 hectares was public land under the district and three thousand five hundred was bought by the Government for BIDCO). However, for the factory at Jinja to make profit, they need palm oil from 10,000 hectares of land. The only other land was the forest land nearby. Palm trees are, indeed, a forest. They are trees that both capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for photo synthesis but also make money for the country and create employment. How can we miss such an opportunity? BIDCO activities have already transformed Kalangala. When I went there last year, people at Bukakata told me that there was now traffic "jammo" at the ferry because of the increased activities. Why should any Ugandan obstruct, harangue or inconvenience such people? What sort of disorientation is this? How can enemies of the future of the people of Uganda be allowed to thrive? Our newspaper such as The Monitor are ever scaring away such investors—such allies of our children's future. The delays and controversies generated by the enemies of progress and permitted to continue make us lose opportunities.

(Continues...)

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