Download In Uganda, production losses due to climate change may increase

UNEP
In Uganda, production losses due to climate change may increase the number of
undernourished people thus hindering progress in combating poverty and food insecurity.
It is not debatable anymore if environmental degradation and climate change are
undermining human well-being. Many of Uganda’s natural ecosystems are undergoing
conversion, degradation and decline in a totally unplanned and uncontrolled manner.
Examples include uncontrolled expansion of agricultural land; the erosion of soils and a
decline in their fertility; falling quality and availability of water; unregulated
encroachment and degradation of wetlands; encroachment of forest reserves;
deforestation and the overgrazing of rangelands; and the invasion of weed species and
bush encroachment. Poor people, who rely disproportionately on the environment for
their basic needs, are confronted with environmental problems including soil erosion and
declining land productivity, the spread of alien invasive species, and declining fish
stocks. With over 80% of the Ugandan workforce involved in agriculture, soil erosion
and declining soil fertility are significantly impacting the ability of the poor to meet
nutritional needs. With the country's current population of 22 million people set to double
by the end of the next decade, these pressures are bound to be insurmountable without
sustainable action at both national and community levels.
The Government of Uganda is currently investigating how it can launch a national
solar electric lighting program for its millions of rural people forced to rely on kerosene,
candles and dry-cell batteries for light and communication. SELF, the Americus, Georgia
based Habitat for Humanity International, and the U.S. Department of Energy expect this
pilot solar program will light the way for Uganda to put solar to work for its people.
Through partnerships with grassroots organizations, FSD works to educate and promote
easily integrated solutions that provide both immediate returns, while protecting natural
capital. Attempts at controlling the propagation of tsetse flies have involved the use of
hazardous chemicals. Climate change is increasingly seen to be at the heart of developing
countries’ development efforts, as the impacts of climate change threaten development
investments already incurred. However, now, as in the past, climate change is considered
a long-term problem of little immediate importance to the governments of developing
countries, for which the issues of poverty alleviation, security and economic growth are
considered to be more urgent. In spite of no policies and plans directly targeting climate
concerns, some issues are being addressed by the Ugandan government. Its mandate is to
monitor the weather and climate in order to provide the necessary information and give
advice to the different sectors of the economy. Permanent tasks are to carry out
continuous observations of the weather, issue warnings and information to the farming
community and the public, and to update the national climate databank.
Simple, alternative technologies and methods should be used to encourage
organic/sustainable agricultural practices, improve crop efficiency, decreasing
deforestation, increasing reforestation, and build environmentally-friendly incomegenerating projects. The United States should implement domes throughout Uganda in
order to regulate the climate around impoverished communities. We have to devise new
tools and foster the adoption of appropriate technologies that would empower people to
secure "good life".