Speaking at a high level meeting with scientists over issues of climate change at Hotel Africana in Kampala, the Principal climate change officer at the ministry, Bob Natifu,  said that key strategies have been the improved delivery of weather information to the farmers.

Natifu said that with timely dissemination of weather information, farmers are able to choose the best time for planting among other key decisions that can help improve their productivity.

The meeting was discussing how the country can boost food supply as it grapples with the refugee influx which has increased pressure on the country’s resources.

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Climate Change and its effects on African Wildlife

Extreme heatwaves that kill even healthy people within hours will strike parts of the Indian subcontinent unless global carbon emissions are cut sharply and soon, according to new research.

Even outside of these hotspots, three-quarters of the 1.7bn population – particularly those farming in the Ganges and Indus valleys – will be exposed to a level of humid heat classed as posing “extreme danger” towards the end of the century.

The new analysis assesses the impact of climate change on the deadly combination of heat and humidity, measured as the “wet bulb” temperature (WBT). Once this reaches 35C, the human body cannot cool itself by sweating and even fit people sitting in the shade will die within six hours.

The revelations show the most severe impacts of global warming may strike those nations, such as India, whose carbon emissions are still rising as they lift millions of people out of poverty.

“It presents a dilemma for India between the need to grow economically at a fast pace, consuming fossil fuels, and the need to avoid such potentially lethal impacts,” said Prof Elfatih Eltahir, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US who led the new study. “To India, global climate change is no longer abstract – it is about how to save potentially vulnerable populations.”

Heatwaves are already a major risk in South Asia, with a severe episode in 2015 leading to 3,500 deaths, and India recorded its hottest ever day in 2016 when the temperature in the city of Phalodi, Rajasthan, hit 51C. Another new study this week linked the impact of climate change to the suicides of nearly 60,000 Indian farmers.

Eltahir said poor farmers are most at risk from future humid heatwaves, but have contributed very little to the emissions that drive climate change. The eastern part of China, another populous region where emissions are rising, is also on track for extreme heatwaves and this risk is currently being examined by the scientists.

Their previous research, published in 2015, showed the Gulf in the Middle East, the heartland of the global oil industry, will also suffer heatwaves beyond the limit of human survival if climate change is unchecked, particularly Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha and coastal cities in Iran.

Climate change in Uganda affects pastoralist communities leading to the deaths of their animals

The new work, published in the journal Science Advances, used carefully selected computer climate models that accurately simulate the past climate of the South Asia to conduct a high resolution analysis of the region, down to 25km.

The scientists found that under a business-as-usual scenario, where carbon emissions are not curbed, 4% of the population would suffer unsurvivable six-hour heatwaves of 35C WBT at least once between 2071-2100. The affected cities include Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh and Patna in Bihar, each currently home to more than two million people.

Vast areas of South Asia – covering 75% of the area’s population – would endure at least one heatwave of 31C WBT. This is already above the level deemed by the US National Weather Service to represent “extreme danger”, with its warning stating: “If you don’t take precautions immediately when conditions are extreme, you may become seriously ill or even die.”

However, if emissions are reduced roughly in line with the global Paris climate change agreement, there would be no 35C WBT heatwaves and the population affected by the 31C WBT events falls to 55%, compared to the 15% exposed today.

The analysis also showed that the dangerous 31C WBT level would be passed once every two years for 30% of the population – more than 500 million people – if climate change is unchecked, but for only 2% of the population if the Paris goals are met. “The problem is very alarming but the intensity of the heatwaves can be reduced considerably if global society takes action,” said Eltahir.

Source:theguradian

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Unmarked path in Kibera. Photo: E Busaka

A street in Woodley Estate. Photo: E Busaka

This is not a situation unique to Nairobi; Kampala has a great number of slums with Katanga being the largest of these slums. According to the UN, in 2014, 30 per cent of the urban population lived in slum-like conditions; in sub-Saharan Africa, the proportion was 55 per cent, the highest of any region. Globally, more than 880 million people were living in slums in 2014. By 2030 50% of Africans will live in cities; the East African nations have a long way to go to ensure that they have well-managed cities and other human settlements because these will be incubators for innovation and ingenuity and key drivers of sustainable development.

Katanga slum in Kampala

Well managed cities will also strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.

Urban growth in Africa is happening so quickly that it overwhelms governments’ abilities to provide education, health services, housing, drinking water, electricity and waste disposal.16 Most residents of SSA cities live in overcrowded informal settlements commonly referred to as slums; Slums are characterized by lack of proper housing and basic amenities, social services, livelihood opportunities, and security. Africa faces a significant challenge in adapting to climate change with costs and damages rising rapidly with warming. – Population Dynamics, Climate Change and Sustainable development in Africa.

Currently Nairobi has the largest urban slum in Africa in its Kibera location with an estimate of 200,000 to one million people. Such slum structures will not stand the test of time when the poor conditions  touted by climate change enthusiasts finally come to pass. The people living in such environments all across East Africa cannot be in position to adapt to the impacts that today’s rapid climate change is expected to bring. Ebby Busaka in her book Kenya’s Urban Housing Dilemma notes that “Improved access to decent housing means better outcomes for all urban residents. It signifies livability, vitality, functioning urban areas and communities and expanded urban networks.” All stakeholders need to work towards this goal of having sustainable cities and communities. Most of East Africa faces the challenges of poverty, unemployment, unsafe water, poor sanitation, negative impacts of climate change (like droughts, floods, etc), increased security concerns, high population growth, among others. The Report on Sustainable development goals for the Eastern Africa subregion notes that Environmental challenges in Eastern Africa are further aggravated by high population growth and rapid and unplanned urbanization. For Example Kampala, the capital of Uganda, is one of the fastest growing cities in Africa but its growth is largely organic. If rapid, unplanned urbanization continues, it will have a serious negative impact on the environment through, among others, poor waste disposal, air pollution, and degradation of adjacent ecosystems through urban sprawl.

However, opportunities are available in the region that can help overcome these challenges if well harnessed. These opportunities include Natural resources, Oil reserves, Regional Integration, Ongoing development strategies and programmes, as well as High rate of urbanization.

East Africans can be optimistic that sustainable cities will be created in this region. In 2016 Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) planned to construct affordable housing units for low income earners and these were to be constructed in over 57 slum settlements located in the five divisions of Kampala.This week progress was further seen in Kampala when the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) launched the project on ‘Strengthening Member States’ Capacities in Designing and Implementing Strategies and Policies for Inclusive and Sustainable Cities in Africa’.

ECA’s Director Ms.Takyiwaa Manuh of the Social Development Policy Division noted that “We are drawing on ECA’s expertise and mandate on urbanization in the context of structural transformation and overarching focus to enhance member states capacities hence we will be launching this project on strengthening Member States’ capacities in designing and implementing strategies and policies for inclusive and sustainable cities in Africa,”

The young child in East Africa can look at and expect their government to play its part in enabling the establishment of sustainable cities and communities using climate smart planning; communities that give them a future.

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Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Oulanyah.

Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Oulanyah, has told young leaders at the United Nations headquarters in New York that the world youth are the hope of the future and that the world looks at them anxiously to find solutions to global challenges.

Addressing the International Young Leaders Assembly held in Washington DC, Oulanyah said that the realization of this hope lies in the young people setting clear and focused goals, working together to shape a shared future.

The meeting at the United Nations headquarters was held under the theme: Moral and Innovative Leadership: Vision, Service and Entrepreneurship.

Oulanyah, said the world economic crisis, climate change, political instability and violent armed conflicts are real issues that demand youth leaders to act in accordance with the aspirations of their people.

Meanwhile, in a separate meeting held at the Ugandan Embassy, New York, Oulanyah asked the International President of Global Peace Foundation, James Flynn, to consider holding the 2018 IYLA in Kampala, Uganda.

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Omalango made the call today Monday 25 July, while speaking to journalists in Kampala. She said such a move will save the environment by providing a suitable atmosphere for farming and drive the economy to the desired levels.

“Many farmers across the world have time and again practiced poor agricultural methods which have in the long run degraded the environment thus causing climate change problems. We need to change this trend in Africa including Uganda in order to save our environment from destruction due to climate related problems,” she noted.

A farmer practicing modern agriculture with his tomato yields.

Omalango says today’s poor environment is a result of climate change which has ushered in a lot  hunger in many African countries  and that this still remains a challenge to most countries which then leads into insecurity.

She warned Uganda on the fast increasing population which she says is strongly and aggressively encroaching on the existing ecological features like wetlands, lakes, rivers, forests among others yet these are the features that are supposed to provide a brighter environment tomorrow for the coming generations.

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Crops affected by climate change

Members of Parliament on the Parliamentary Forum on Climate Change have said contributions by major environmental polluting countries like US and China in mitigating climate change effects in developing countries is too little to avert disasters like floods, mudslides, drought and poor harvests among others. MPs including Ora county MP Lawrence Songa Biyika, Moroto MP Samuel Okwir and Kapelebyong MP Julius Ochen among others now want  thorough preparations ahead of the Morocco summit on the UN Framework Convention on Climate (UNFCC) cop 22 to take place on November 7-18th.

Songa says Parliament needs to work on the bill on climate change to ensure earlier signed agreements on climate change are implemented if Uganda is to benefit from international conferences on climate change effects mitigation. According to Okwir, China and US give very little and conditional funds yet continue to be biggest polluters without considering that land for example in Uganda  one can use one piece of land for growing many crops and one cannot only grow trees in US’ interest.

The MPs want the Morocco meeting for November to equip African countries with enough data to base on whenever there are any opportunities to engage US, China and other globally known countries polluting the environment to pay heavily on the basis that the countries have led to diverse effects in less developed countries.

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Photo credit: snipview.com

The National Forestry Authority (NFA) and the Ministry of water and Environment calls on members of parliament to advocate for the climate change fund. This comes as environmentalists and youth were discussing promotion of tree planting with members of parliament at parliament. The head of climate change in the ministry of water and Environment Chebet Maikut says that creating the climate change fund will add more resources to climate financing from government and development partners. Chebet also said that parliament should consider reducing the cost of electricity and biogas to reduce pressure on the forests for charcoal burning.

The Director corporate Affairs at the National Forestry Authority Paul Buyerah Musamali asked members of parliament and other people with some income to stop using charcoal to deny charcoal dealers market and think about the alternative methods of cooking.

The member of parliament for Gulu municipality says that other areas should develop a culture of Baganda  where by  some species  of trees and animals are taken as totems and guarded jealously which is one way of protecting the environment from degradation. The woman member of parliament for Masaka district Babirye Kabanda says that  its time for the country to blacklist the persons who are highly involved in the degradation of environment through cutting trees for charcoal  burning as an action to stop unnecessary cut of trees.

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Crops affected by climate change conditions

Uganda’s minister for water and environment professor Ephraim Kamuntu calls on developing nations on behalf of African countries to implement the global agreement on climate change that was signed by about 200 nations in the world to reduce the green gas emissions to the atmosphere.

While opening an international conference on sustainable consumption and production, professor Kamuntu said that the African continent only contributes 4% to the emissions emitted to the atmosphere and Uganda contributes only 0.01 % but the impact of climate change on the economies is not proportion to the emissions unlike those developing nations.

Kamuntu says something should be done by the developing nations in the world in order to mitigate the effects of climatic change in order to alleviate poverty.

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Improved seeds

Experts are concerned that farmers are slow in adapting to new technologies aimed at countering and reducing effects of climate change, which could in turn impact on their farm produce. Speaking during a stakeholders meeting on farmers’ readiness for adaptation to climate  in agriculture, the executive director, DENIVA-Uganda, Justus Rugambwa noted that government is supplying farmers with improved seeds and breeds of animals but these have not helped improve farming practices due to ignorance on how to use these technologies. Rugambwa advises government and stakeholders to integrate indigenous knowledge with new technologies so as the country copes  with changes in climate patterns.

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RT Hon. Dr Ruhakana Rugunda addressing the delegates in Paris

NEW YORK, 22 APRIL 2016.
H.E. Mogens Lykketoft, President of the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly,
Their Excellencies, Heads of State and Government,
H.E. Ban Ki-Moon, UN Secretary General,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am honoured and privileged to convey warm fraternal greetings and best wishes from H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda, to Their Excellencies on this historic occasion of the signing of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. H.E the President was desirous of attending this event but has not been able to do so due to other equally important State commitments. H.E the President delegated me to represent him. I wish to start my remarks in the capacity of Uganda as the Chairperson of the Africa Group for this month.

Mr. President,
The adoption of the Paris Agreement in December 2015 marked the end of a long process of diplomatic engagement and jostling over measures to include in the global package for addressing challenges arising from the effects of climate change. The Paris Agreement was a major milestone in our determination and commitment to take concrete actions to hold the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C above the pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above the pre-industrial levels.

Mr. President,
This Signing Ceremony of the Paris Agreement opens a new chapter in our global efforts to put into action the undertakings we agreed in Paris. The fact that many countries worldwide will today sign the Agreement sends a strong message of our collective resolve and firm commitment to implement that Agreement. All of us must commit ourselves to carrying this bold step forward by ratifying and eventually domesticating the said Agreement in order to give it the necessary legal effect under our respective national legislation. We re-affirm our commitment to implementing the various relevant measures and actions; as spelt-out in the Agreement.

Mr. President,
Despite all these on-going efforts, African countries are confronted with some real challenges in terms of gaps especially in areas of financing the various climate change priority initiatives; strengthening institutional and human capacities to effectively respond to these challenges; and accessing the vital necessary technologies critical for climate change mitigation and adaptation. This is the context in which we urge our developed country partners that have the required means, to come-in and partner with us in addressing these gaps; consistent with the relevant provisions of the Paris Agreement and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on financing climate change. They should significantly mobilise and provide new and additional scaled-up financial flows; support enhancement of scientific and technological innovations; and increase assistance for human resource and institutional capacity-building to enable us to fully implement robust climate change actions. We believe that such support can contribute to significant gains in investments in green economy; restoration of our degraded ecosystems and strengthened community resilience to the impacts of climate change and disaster risks.

On the part of Africa, we are committed to promoting regional partnerships for addressing transboundary climate change challenges; including through pooling of resources, available capacities and skills; and sharing of relevant information and data. This is important for efficiency and cost effectiveness in the utilisation of the available limited resources.

Mr. President,
In my national capacity, I am happy to report that Uganda has taken a number of actions to operationalise some of the relevant commitments under the said Agreement. We have fully integrated measures to address the effects of climate change in our long-term national aspiration “Uganda Vision 2040”; and the Second National Development Plan (FY 2015/16-FY 2019/20). The re-elected NRM Government, to be sworn-in on 12th May 2016, has prioritised climate change among issues to address over the next five years.

In this regard, building a sustainable green economy, including through focus on increased use of renewable sources of energy, restoration of degraded ecosystems and demarcation of critical wetlands and forest boundaries, will form a cornerstone of policy-action to be undertaken. Climate change measures are being mainstreamed in various sectoral policies, plans, programmes and projects of Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Government is investing in the strengthening of institutional capacity of MDAs to deal with the effects of climate change. It is also committed to mobilising to the extent possible domestic resources, capacities, and skills needed to address climate change.

Uganda, in accordance with her relevant national laws, has initiated the necessary process of ratifying and domesticating the Agreement.

Mr. President,
In conclusion, I wish to underscore the seriousness of the effects of climate change and the urgent need to take effective concerted global action to address them. Any piecemeal or selective approach, in my view, will neither secure nor guarantee a safer planet for the present and future generations. It will not respond to the plight of the most vulnerable communities in poor countries and their yearning for salvation from extinction. These groups must be supported to survive, prosper and spur socio-economic transformation without leaving any one behind.

Mr. President,
I thank you for your kind attention.

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