Welcome you to this special edition of our quarterly newsletter. Today we commemorate the World Environment Day (WED) 2022 in a relatively big way for the first time since the lifting of the Covid-19 lockdowns. We are grateful that we are still alive, and we also pray for the souls of all the departed.
This is the first WED the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) celebrates under the stewardship of Dr. Barirega Akankwasah who will soon be making a year at the Authority. When Dr. Akankwasah joined NEMA in September 2021, he started with the task of reviving the environment sector through halting degradation of environment, strengthening of environmental justice systems through enforcement and prosecution, and improving service delivery by restructuring and enhancing community participation.
Dr. Akankwasah started guiding the leadership at NEMA to help get the Authority out of the challenges brought about by Covid-19. We thank him for the farsightedness that has kept the institution afloat during this challenging time.
This edition, among other stories, looks at this year’s ‘fully openair’ WED celebrations hosted by Luwero District Local Government in their environmentally friendly playground, Kasana. Unlike in the previous two years, this year’s WED commemoration has returned to the traditional style of pomp and glamour.
Today, WED has brought together hundreds of Ugandans and friends to show case our commitment to the environment, and also demonstrate our efforts towards achieving environmental sanity.
Away from WED, we report that the number of developers seeking NEMA’s approval is continuously growing with more projects receiving the coveted nod in the January – March quarter. Although 166 certificates of approval were issued, 33 projects did not get NEMA’s green light.
We also capture a story about resident district and city commissioners from central and western Uganda who were equipped with environmental and social safeguards training in Mbarara City. NEMA offered this training at the start of the April – June Quarter. The capacity building and engagement aimed at enhancing the politicians’ ability to effectively perform their roles and responsibilities as stipulated in the Constitution, the Local Government Act and the National Environment Act (NEA) No.5 of 2019.
In the newsletter, we also bring you much more.
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