Kampala — UGANDA'S wetlands may be completely wiped out unless community developments are properly planned.

Paul Mafabi, the assistant commissioner, Wetlands Inspection Division, says unplanned development can turn wetlands into unproductive wastelands.

Mafabi was opening an East African Wetlands Management course at Mbale, aimed at strengthening the skills of middle managers of wetlands.

"We would all face problems of unclean water if we clear all the swamps because there would be no purifying system," he says.