By Spy Uganda
The escalating climate crisis has dealt a heavy blow to salt mining at Lake Katwe, where relentless rains have raised water levels, submerging salt pans and displacing thousands of miners who depend on the lake for their livelihood.
Local leaders and long-time residents say the flooding is the worst the area has witnessed in decades, turning a once-thriving artisanal industry into a scene of despair.
Speaking to Spy Uganda, Kabahinda Hadija, a salt miner at Lake Katwe, said the rising waters have made it nearly impossible to access the pans.
“We can’t even reach our pans anymore. The water is too much. Some farmers have tampered with the lake’s banks, making things even worse,” she said.
Kesi Kawooma, another miner, said the devastation has forced many to walk away from their flooded salt pans.
“We are losing everything. This is our only source of income. We don’t know how we’ll survive if this continues,” he lamented.
Some miners have tried pumping out the floodwaters using small generators, but the effort has been futile.
“The generators aren’t helping at all,” said Tubisigwa Salim. “We need the government to provide industrial-grade pumps if we are to resume mining.”
The economic fallout is already hitting the local economy. John Bosco Kananura, Chairperson of Katwe-Kabatooro Town Council, said the town’s revenue has plummeted from UGX 696 million to under UGX 300 million in recent months.
“This isn’t just an economic issue — it’s a humanitarian crisis,” Kananura said. “Thousands of people rely on salt mining to survive. We urgently need government and humanitarian support — food, tents, and equipment.”
Salt miners warn that years of personal investment are on the verge of being wiped out.
“People have poured their life savings into these pans,” said Birungi Paul, a veteran miner. “If no action is taken, the Katwe salt economy will collapse completely.”
Located inside Queen Elizabeth National Park, Lake Katwe is Uganda’s only commercial salt lake, renowned for producing rock and lake salt for both domestic and regional markets. Traditionally, the lake relies on dry season evaporation to enable salt crystallization — a process now severely disrupted by increasingly erratic and extreme weather patterns linked to global climate change.
Environmental experts warn that without climate adaptation infrastructure and proper land-use planning, vital industries like salt mining could face irreversible damage.
“We are witnessing the collapse of a traditional industry due to climate inaction,” one conservationist told Spy Uganda. “Unless interventions are made, the damage could become permanent.”
As floodwaters continue to rise, the fate of thousands hangs in the balance. Miners, community leaders, and conservationists are now calling for immediate government intervention, long-term climate adaptation strategies, and sustainable infrastructure investments to protect one of Uganda’s most culturally and economically significant natural resources.
