Scarcity of Forest Resource Hits Kyangwali Refugee Camp

By Muhumuza Derrick, Kasonga.

A picture of a construction site near Kasonga Trading Center

Since the influx of Congolese Refugees who crossed Lake Albert to seek asylum in Kyangwali early this year, most of the land in Maratatu has been allocated to these refugee new arrivals and another challenge has been generated. lack of resources from the forest, wood for construction, firewood and Timber are now scarce. We all know that some refugees sold firewood to the lakeside especially at the lake shore of Nsonga on L. Albert to earn a living. This challenge started with the increase in the cost of Poles for construction, something that has triggered the use of an alternative construction material, burned Bricks. The scarcity of firewood which most disturbing has made both old and new refugees to start going outside the refugee camp in nearby places like Katikara to obtain wood fuel for cooking.

In an interview with some refugee families in Kyangwali, it is also said that they are not allowed to go to the surviving parts of Bugoma forest and the forest reserve in the outskirts of the settlement, something they say has also threatened hunting and has also made the life of relying on traditional resources that they used to obtain locally difficult.

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