Uganda like many developing countries, is in the dilemma over protecting the environment while allowing sustainable use of its resources for promotion of livelihood and development. There are many instances of encroachment on the natural resources and degradation of ecosystems attributed to several factors.

A senior legal counsel of National Environment Management Authority, Ms Christine Echookit Akello, notes that constitutionalism and judicial practice in Uganda is rich in lessons on the role of judicial activism embedded in the 1995 Constitution.

Quoting Article 39 that grants every Ugandan a right to a clean and healthy environment and Article 17(i) which provides for the judiciary to seize the mantle and advance environmental rights and ensure the fulfilment of environmental obligations to create and protect the environment, Akello notes that these laws have not been realised and the provisions are more over-looked than observed and yet the obligation falls not just on the citizens but on the Judiciary as well.

"Courts in many jurisdictions have used the public trust doctrine to ensure proper use of environmental resources entrusted to them in the Constitution," she said, adding, "Local governments are by law to hold in trust the people and protect natural lakes, rivers, wetlands, forest reserves, game reserves, natural parks and any land reserved for ecological and touristic purposes for the common good for all citizens."

The senior legal officer recounts that courts are supposed to take into account the precautionary principle when exercising jurisdiction in respect of cases falling under the different environmental legislation such as Section 2 of the National Environment Act chapter 153 and principle 15 of the Rio Declaration on environment and development that stipulates that if there are threats of serious or irreversible environment damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation.

She said as the public is directly to benefit or be harmed from the activities involving the environment, public participation must be enhanced by individually or collectively enforcing the right to a decent environment. She says, "Equitable access to environment justice is a key factor in wealth creation".

Ms Echookit calls for incentives to encourage individuals to report and cause the prosecution of environment offenses to avail the judiciary with the relevant resource materials as custodians of environmental rights.

According to Echookit, there is need for positive environment changes where regulatory and executive institutions may need to be checked in their decision making on environment.

Courts as custodians of the noble constitutional provisions on environmental sustainability need to be able to act on their own, for instance to make other arms of government environmentally accountable. She calls on the Judiciary to seriously consider the concept as a way of promoting judicial activism.