Envriomental conservation is very Important

South Sudan government should prioritize the environmental conservation. 

By: Abraham Daljang Maker, Kampala Uganda

Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as water, air and soil. It is the destruction of ecosystem and extinction of wildlife.  There are many bad practices that should be discouraged if we need to live in a happy environment.  It is our collective role to educate the masses about the dangers of the environmental mismanagement. The media is a platform on which all these should be aired out in order to create full awareness. There are many forms of degrading environment and one of them is bush burning.

 Bush burning is a practice done by pastoral communities in search for pasture to feed the animals.  Many people especially the common men in many countries in Africa who rear animals and others who farm the land know nothing about the greatest dangers of bush burning. They only look at the narrow angle of inducing pastures for their animals. Bush burning interferes with ecosystem; it endangers the lives of the wild animals. Living in harmony with our environment has always been on the lips of environmentalists but none of us seem to pay any heed.

In my early childhood, I relished to see the grass burned to ashes so that I could tread on the dark ash in bare feet, I loved seeing insects and other small animals lying dead and helpless on ashes. But little did I know that what was happening can cause bad impact not only on our generation but also to the next one.  Almost half of the population in south Sudan if not all of them are fond of burning the bushes, farmers believe that burning the grass can kill the weeds and allow the crops to grow well. And also animal keepers do it with hope that a new pasture will spring up to save the animals from eating the dry crust.

Environmentalists urge us to stop deforestation and burning of fossil because it’s one of the root cause of global warming.  Although this can not be well understood by everyone, it is better to know other effects of burning and clearing of the bush.  Farmers should know that burning the bush is not a good practice at all; it kills the micro-organism which lives in the soil. These organisms are responsible for air circulation in the soil which is good for the growth of crops. Mole and other small insects bore into the soil allowing it to have much air circulation for the roots of the crops to breath; useful bacteria in the soil decompose the dead plants turning it into manure for the best growth of the crops. Killing these micro-organisms in the soil through burning can be dangerous for the crops growth; it can lead to extinction of these organisms which are useful in one way or the other. Burning the grass also leaves the land bare which subjects it to soil erosion when the wind sweeps away the fertile top part of the soil leaving the infertile one. Heavy rain and running water carry away the top part of the soil, hence leading to poor yield of crops.

On the other hand, the pastoralists who burn bush for good pasture should also learn that, burning kills the seeds of the weeds. When the weed’s seeds are burned, the possibility of getting enough pastures in that area is very low. The few seeds of the weeds which survived and germinate will all be eaten by the animals and there will be nothing left for the next season.  The concentration of many animals in one area leads to overgrazing the land, therefore it can mount to soil erosion followed by long drought. Some parts of south Sudan are semi-arid with small grass and shrubs, if these traditions of bush burning practices are not shunned; than I am afraid we shall be the first victims of global warming in a few years to come. Famine and drought are inevitable if this practice is not properly addressed.

Dumping of waste product in an open place is another area that degrades the environment.  When I was in south Sudan last year, I could not believe what I saw in my necked eyes. Empty water bottles and tin cans of soda were littering on the ground, let alone polythene bags which fly everywhere.  It is only in the market places where you see some small pails/dust bin full of bottles and tin cans, but out side the town is in a sorry condition. Just at the outskirt of Juba city in Yei road, there are a lot of dump wastes at the roadside especially plastic bottles and tin cans mix with what smalls like human waste. Much as the other dissipates can decompose; the tin cans and plastic bottles can never rot at all. The funny thing I saw was when the dumpers tried to burn the bottles and the cans, plastics bottles just coagulate and remain coil and tin cans remain the same except the paint which peel off.  This looks like a simple issue but it can have a negative consequences on the environment in the long run, it is the work of the ministry of environment to put some tough measures to those who indulge themselves in such heinous act of dumping the waste at the road side. It is better to protect the flora and fauna and live in harmony with them. I would also suggest that regulations should be put forwards to minimize the waste dumping any how; recycling of the water bottle is the best way to protect the environment from severe damage.