President Museveni is clearly in a combative mood this presidential term. After declaring it Kisanja Hakuna Mchezo (no nonsense term of office) to emphasise he means business, the president is now talking of “war against environment degradation.”

With the prolonged dry spell adversely affecting agricultural production, President Museveni has of late consistently talked up the need to preserve wetlands and forests so as to boost rainfall.

He repeated this message last Friday during the annual thanksgiving prayers at State House, Entebbe. Museveni went on to tour wetlands in eastern Uganda as well as enjoy the breeze in Mabira forest over the weekend.

Why has it taken so long for President Museveni and his government to appreciate the importance of protecting the environment? Truth is, they have been part of the problem.

For instance, if it wasn’t for stiff resistance from members of the public, a big chunk of the Mabira forest whose breeze Museveni was seen enjoying would have been chopped down to grow sugarcane. The president has all along shown a worrisome readiness to sacrifice the environment at the altar of investment.

On other occasions, he has allowed politics to stand in the way. Many people have been encouraged to invade forests and wetlands because they can bank on his protection for political reasons, especially if their timing is right – just before general elections.

This explains the current impasse between National Forestry Authority (NFA) and residents of Namanve forest reserve who face eviction on December 26 but are resisting the move.

After looking on as these people settled in the area just before the 2011 elections, the government now realises it must have them evicted to pave way for major infrastructural projects.

As expected, they will not go quietly. They should not have been allowed to settle there in the first place. But politics prevailed, as it has in several other cases.

Therefore, if the president really wants to execute his “war against environment degradation” to perfection, he must be ready to lose some political capital in pursuit of a greater good. Short of that, it is business as usual.