The Sunday Mail
Online Reporter
The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) has warned farmers who are planning to cultivate on wetlands and stream-banks for the forthcoming summer cropping season that they will face prosecution.
In a statement on Thursday, EMA education and publicity manager Ms Amkela Sidange said offenders will be charged under section 20 of Environmental Management (Environmental Impact Assessment and Ecosystems Protection) Regulations, Statutory Instrument 7 of 2007.
“The agency also wants to take this opportunity to discourage cultivation on wetlands,” she said.
“With the fast-approaching rain season many people are already preparing land for farming and mostly in urban areas, this is done encroaching into wetland areas.
“Cultivation in a wetland remains a punishable offence and all those found in violation would be prosecuted.
“We are also urging local authorities to control urban farming by using their by-laws to ensure that cultivation is not done in ecologically fragile ecosystems such as wetlands and stream-banks.”
