The Albertine Rift

By Jumah Ssenyonga
Kampala – The receding water levels of Lake Victoria have destroyed part of Lutembe Beach, threatening two million migratory birds from Europe and around the world that roost there during winter, attracting concern from conservationists.
According to the conservationists the site that roosts birds is part of the Albertine Rift that spans over eight National Parks in Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, that is home to 48 bird threatened species.

Achilles Byaruhanga, the head of the Bird Life Centre, Nature Uganda told The New Times that the water has retreated, putting three square kilometers out of the eight square kilometers of the bay at risk of drying up.
Byaruhanga was speaking during an excursion, which was part of the activities organised to commemorate the World Migratory Bird Day recently at the bay.
He added that the bird numbers had gone down because the bay is being eaten up by the weeds.
The bay, which is located between Kampala and Entebbe, attracts over five million migratory birds that escape the chilly European winters every year to roost around Lake Victoria.
However, with reports of the emergence of the Bird Flu (HN5I) on the continent, the birds pose a major challenge to the Albertine Region, setting in motion efforts by governments in the region to stifle the pandemic's onslaught.
Early this year, the Director of the Rwanda National Animal Development Centre at Rubilizi, Dr Theogene Rutagwenda, told The New Times that the government had instituted a total ban on the importation of poultry products since last year.
He also disclosed that a taskforce comprising the stakeholder Ministries of Agriculture, Commerce and Health had been instituted to carry out a public campaign against the pandemic.