Africa must reorganize its human settlement to protect the environment - President Museveni
President Yoweri Museveni has said that Africa must reorganise its human resettlement if it is to adequately protect its environment, adding that lack of energy sources for the growing populations is one of the factors that have led to environmental degradation.

President Museveni who arrived in the Egyptian resort City of Sharm el Sheikh yesterday for the fourth Ministerial meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) said the biggest challenge facing the African continent, especially communities that live along side River Nile, is lack of electricity and agricultural land.

President Museveni who was met at the Sharm el Sheikh International Airport by the Egyptian Prime Minister, Dr. Ahmed Nazif and the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Dr. Mohammed Nasreddin Allam, said the continent needs industrialization so that peasant communities can live and work in industrial cities and release the pressure on forests and swamps.

"We must re-organise the whole human settlements so that the swamps and forests are left alone. Peasants are cutting down trees at an alarming rate due to lack of electricity or alternative energies. If the trees are cut, this affects the amount of rainfall and if the swamps run dry, it becomes even more dangerous," he said.

President Museveni commended the relationship between Uganda and Egypt saying it is very good not only now but even during the struggle for Uganda's independence in the 1950s.

Egyptian Prime Minister, Dr. Ahmed Nazif said his country was now interested in working with all stakeholders to initiate a special commission to develop a plan for the River Nile.

"It is no longer only about the distribution of the waters on the Nile but development projects affecting communities here," he said.
President Museveni is in Sharm el Sheikh for the fourth 2-day Ministerial Meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). The President Museveni, who is accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Sam Kutesa, that of Works and Transport, Engineer John Nasasira, the Ambassador of Uganda in Egypt, Mr. Omar Lubulwa and Uganda’s envoy to China, Mr. Wagidoso was scheduled to address the summit today.
FOCAC is a collective consultation and dialogue mechanism between China and African countries. The main agenda is to review the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and the Programme for China-Africa Cooperation in Economic and Social Development, explore new initiatives and measures on the way toward Sino-African cooperation in such areas of priority as human resources, agriculture, infrastructure, investment and trade.

ENDS