Causes of enviromental degradation in Uganda

• Destruction of wetlands through reclamation to increase on aacreage of land for agriculture, settlement, industrial establishment e.g. Kampala, Mbarara, Mbale etc.
• Destruction of vegetation cover for lumbering, charcoal burningetc. E.g. Mabira, Budongo etc.
• Agricultural practice/activities such as use of agrochemical/fertilizers, herbicides e.g. Kakira, Lugazi.
• Industrialization i.e. emissionof industrial fumes and affluents, dumping of industrial solid wastes e.g. Uganda Breweries
• Transport sector e.g. exhaust fumes, oil spills on water (L. Victoria) e.g. Kampala capital city.
• Settlement/urbanization which creates run-off thus causing periodic flooding e.g. Karerwe, Nakivubo in Kampala.
• Bush burning destroys vegetation cover and transforms the original vegetation cover into secondary and low quality vegetation types e.g. Karamoja, Lyantonde etc.
• Mining and quarrying which leavedeep hollows that may harbor disease causing vectors e.g. Kilembe mine.
• Road construction which destabilize the landscape leading to land slides e.g.Mbale roads
• Drilling of boreholeswhichdistabilize the water tableand soil profile e.g. Moroto, Soroti. Lira etc.
• Climatic changes due to global warming e.g. in Karamoja.
• Effects of strong winds which lead to dusty conditions, high rate of evaporation e.g. in Kotido.
• Pests and diseases which affect crops in Masaka, Kabale etc.
• Invasion of water weed (hyacinth) on water bodies such Lake Victoria, L. Kyoga etc.
• Disasters such as flooding and landslides in Mbale.
• Political instability such as in Kasese lead to destruction of vegetation by explosives
• Poor fishing methods such as overfishing and use of poisons depletes fish from water bodies such as L. Victoria.
• Poaching leads to extinction of valuable wildlife species such as Rhinos in Murchison National Park.

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