Tourism promoters start drive to save Lake Bunyonyi from silting

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Tourism activists in Kigezi sub-region have embarked on a  new campaign aimed at ending silting and disposal of sewerage into Lake Bunyonyi.

Bunyonyi, the second deepest Lake in Africa, after Lake Tanganyika,  is one of the top tourism revenue earners for Uganda and the main source of water in Kabale town.  However, the water body is threatened by human activity.

Hotels and schools have been accused of draining sewerage into the lake. Poor methods of farming by locals have also led silting of the lake to continue. As a result, the depth of Lake Bunyonyi has decreased by 1,2 meters from a maximum depth of 900 meters.

As a result of this, the tourism promoters have embarked on an initiative to reduce harmful activities around the Lake and to ensure that the beauty of Lake Bunyonyi can be maintained.

Engineer Ivan Mbabazi Batuma, the Chairperson of Kigezi Tourism Cluster says that although other tourism sites in the region are equally endangered, the magnitude of destruction targeted at Lake Bunyonyi is unrivalled.

Batuma adds that the cluster is in a process of planting trees on the shores of the lake to control silting and constructing toilets for schools neighbouring the lake to ensure that no waste ends up in the freshwater bodies around.

Rubanda District Chairman Kenneth Jogo Biryabarema says that although Lake Bunyonyi had been recognized globally as one of the deepest lakes with clean water, the record is away due to human activities tampering with its nature.

Biryabarema wonders why locals neighbouring lake cultivate up to its shores which as a result drains soils into the water.  He advises communities working in the precincts of the Lake to adhere to the environmental guidelines and leave 100 meters between the Lake and their gardens.

Daniel Irunga, Senior Marketing Officer at Uganda Tourism Board says that the quality of such a tourism attraction must be nurtured for its visibility to increase.

Irunga says that at least 280,000 of the 1.4 million tourists which Uganda received in 2017, entered Uganda through the Katuna border targeting the beauty of Lake Bunyonyi and other sites in Kigezi sub-region adding that its destruction will have far-reaching effects on the tourism sector.

The outcry comes days after a marathon organized to raise awareness on the need to preserve the tourism site. The marathon held on Sunday attracted over 500 participants and raised 45 million Shillings towards the construction of toilets at the schools neighbouring the lake and encouraging tree planting on the lake shores.

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