Given that the majority of poor people depend on the environment for their livelihood, the state of the environment has a huge implication for poverty reduction: Over 89% of the population of the district lives in the rural areas and depends on natural resources for their livelihood. 80 percent of the population is employed in agricultural sector. Ninety nine percent (99%) of the population rely on wood fuel for their domestic energy needs. Degradation of the environment leads to low productivity of the natural resources and consequently poverty.
The sectors efforts to improve environmental conditions contribute to productivity and poverty eradication.
Present situation:
Arua District has high natural resource potentials such as fairly fertile soils forests, wildlife, water resources, wetlands, and a favourable climate with rainfall ranging from 900mm to 1500mm per year. However, several factors have led to the degradation of the Environment. These factors include high population increase and unsustainable utilization of natural resources, poverty, desire to increase per capita, low levels of technology, low levels of environmental awareness, introduction of tobacco growing in the district and influx of refugees.
The above strain has resulted into a number of environmental issues:
(a) Soil degradation:
Soil degradation is one of the most disturbing environmental problems affecting the district. This is particularly so in lower Ayivu, some parts of Vurra and Madi counties.
(b) Deforestation:
The District has 39 gazetted forest reserves totalling 60 425 Ha. Between 40 to 60 percent of the forests has been removed. However, deforestation is mainly taking place in communal and private lands.
(c) Poor waste disposal/sanitation:
Solid waste management is one of the major problems in the district both in the urban and rural areas. Arua municipal council is currently not in position to manage the waste properly as stipulated in the Public Health Act of 1964 and Local Government statute of 1997.
Equally, most households do not have disposal pits. Latrine coverage in the district is still low (58 percent). Waste is disposed of in unhygienic manner.
Water supply in Arua District is equally not very good. Only 62.82 percent of the people in the District have access to safe water.
(d) Wetlands & river bank degradation:
Wetlands cover approximately 2.8 percent (87 km2) of the total land area of the district. This allows water to stay in one place long enough to maximize infiltration. The water holding capacity and buffering effect of wetlands ensure that rivers and streams continue to flow during the dry season and ground water is sustained. There has however been a lot of wetlands and river banks degradation through drainage for cultivation, brick making, sand mining and burning of vegetation. Unless the above trend is reversed, the district’s wetlands will be completely destroyed in future.
(e) Loss of biodiversity
In 1960s the district had a variety of wildlife including white-rhinos, elephants, buffalos, kobs, bush bucks, baboons, varies species of birds and other animals. This is because of the varies habitats ranging from swamp vegetation along the Nile to wood savannah towards the west. Due to poaching, encroachment for agricultural land, lawlessness of 1970,s white rhinos and elephants were extinct.
