The Environment Police on Thursday arrested 4 persons of Asian origin who were found backfilling a wetland near Kajjansi Airfield, along Entebbe Road.
The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) also stopped a developer from encroaching on and backfilling part of Lake Victoria with stones and murram in Entebbe.
These and others are part of nationwide interventions as NEMA intensifies operations to curb degradation of the environment.
For both cases our inspectors discovered that the developers had not undertaken Environment and Social Impact Assessment, contrary to provisions of the National Environment Act, No 5 2019.
According to a press statement issued by NEMA, the Environment Protection Police Unit has commenced investigations into the matter to bring other suspect(s) who are still at large to book and the process of prosecution has been initiated.
The intervention in the case of Entebbe follows a whistle blowers outcry, including videos and pictures shared on social media about the legality of activities that were taking place on the site.
A team of inspectors was dispatched to the site this week and discovered that indeed murram and stones were being deposited into the lake and yet the developer did not have the requisite approvals as required by the law.
Wetlands and lake shores are a vital part of our ecosystem. They are habitats for species, perform unique hydrological functions such as regulation of water quality, reducing soil erosion and aiding in flood control. Despite these important ecological functions, such critical ecosystems have been a target for encroachment especially for settlement, agriculture and other developments.