UGANDA SHOWS AFRICA THE WAY

Many would say that Uganda has led the way in Africa when it comes to combating the issue of Climate Change, this point of view is further backed by the endeavors the state and many concerned climate activists have taken in this global fight. 

A Climate Change activist in one of the slums of Kampala, Uganda

Uganda was the first country in Africa to develop and endorse its Nationally Determined Contribution Partnership Plan (NDC-PP) in June 2018. It made key commitments in this regard, including, reducing national greenhouse gas emissions by 22% by 2030, reducing climate vulnerability of climate sensitive sectors since the economy is natural resource based, and building climate resilience of key sectors and managing disaster risks. 
This sounds like a step in the right direction for the East African country but like most of the developing world, Uganda is openly feeling the adverse effects of climate change. 

A young girl in Kasese fetches water from one the rivers that burst it banks recently. 

In October 2019, residents of Kasese were hit with floods that killed one person and displaced more than 7000 people, Uganda is combating one of the highest rates of annual forest cover loss (2.6%) in the world and despite various calls for state assistance that eventually arrives in moderation or not at all, Uganda and specifically, people living in and around Mbale have suffered from the landslides that is as a result of their encroaching on the mountain sides for agriculture. We have also felt the effects of prolonged drought in the country with five of the hottest years in modern human history coming in the past decade.

The streets of Kampala battle floods all the time because of the poor drainage system. 

This may taint a sad and horrific future for future generations but as said before, Uganda can hold its head high when discourse about climate change combat is put forth, Uganda has been the beneficiary of a lot of funds that the state is putting to work. In Lira, they have kicked off a tree planting project with the aim of restoring all the lost forest cover, in Kasese which also happens to be the most at the frontline of renewable energy use in Uganda has seen a increase in use of clean energy from 3% in 2012 to 28.9% in 2018. 

Uganda has also received various donations and grants to help facilitate the fight with The Lake Victoria Management Project implemented by the Ministry of Water and Environment being funded by a $90 million International Development Association credit. In 2016, the World Bank approved $2million for the Uganda Clean Cooking Supply Project which advocates for clean energy in households. 
Uganda has from 2016 been backed by over $250Million from the World Bank which has been used in many projects ranging from research into more environmentally friendly Agriculture to technological innovations.

All these efforts maybe just a drop in the ocean in this global struggle but as a country, Uganda has shown the World that we need to act now and as former US President, Barack Obama once said, “Climate Change is no longer some far away problem; it is happening here, it is happening now!”
BY CASSIOUS DAVID KISAKYE