BUJUMBURA February 20th (ABP) – The Minister of the Environment, Agriculture and Livestock, Mr. Déo-Guide Rurema, signed, on February 4, 2019, an ordinance prohibiting the planting of forest species that absorb much water, such as eucalyptus, in the perimeters of the water source protection, in the shallows and in the marshes. According to Article 1 of that ordinance, the purpose of the prohibition is to reduce the risk of drying up water sources and reducing the level of beds in streams, rivers and lakes.
For that ordinance, a source of water is defined as “a place of emergence on the surface of the ground where the water table is stored”. In the case of marshes, the latter are depressed lands flooded or waterlogged permanently or intermittently. The ordinance states that the prohibition zone covers a width of 15 meters from the boundary that separates the shallow or the marsh and the side of the hill. In addition, according to the ordinance, forest species that consume a lot of water and planted in forbidden areas will be replaced by indigenous species whose species will be determined by the authorized forest services.
According to Article 5 of that Ordinance, “implementation is carried out by the Burundian Authority for Environmental Protection, the Provincial Offices of the Environment, Agriculture and Livestock, in collaboration with the territorial administration and local communities.
