The Observer (Kampala)
Ambrose Murangira
27 August 2008
opinion
Uganda joined the rest of the world to commemorate International Youth Day under the theme "Youth and Climate Change: Time for Action".
It reminded me of a Ugandan delegate at the last Commonwealth Youth Forum. During a plenary session under the topic sustainable development and climate change, he argued that since over 80% of air pollution is produced by developed countries there is no need for developing countries to worry about climate change; it should be left to the developed countries!
Well, he should have known that it is not only developed countries that cause global warming, but our own local decisions and actions on natural resources can also destroy the ecosystem leading to global warming and eventually climate change - which is now a global concern. Environmental degradation practices such as deforestation, reclamation of wetlands, waste generation per person per day, poor garbage disposal practices, usage of old electrical appliances, the cars we drive, firewood burning etc, all contribute to the problem. However, Ugandan environmental activists have only been focusing on government actions and have totally forgotten that households are the major contributors to climate change. There is endless talk on the danger Mabira Forest is facing, even though the President has not yet confirmed his position; he does not need lectures - he knows that Mabira reduces greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, contributes to rain water formation, modifies and stabilises weather and balances rainfall patterns, hence reducing the dangers of climate change. Believe me; he will not cut down Mabira, so stop making the unnecessary noises.
Efforts should instead be focused on changing people's mindset to recognise and respect our natural environment. Why so? 70% of the forests in Uganda are privately owned, and only 30% is held under trust by the government for the citizens - so the citizens themselves share a big responsibility in preserving the natural resources that can help control climate change.
A Food and Agricultural Organisation study last year indicated that forest cover in Uganda is lost at an alarming rate of 79,200 hectares per year. Is that government's action alone?
Also, people must be made aware of the fact that the three arms of government too are made up of people, so when you change their mindset towards natural resource conservation, policy formulation and its implementation is made so much the easier.
The UN reported that world temperatures will increase by 2.5 degrees Centigrade by the year 2030 - this will impact negatively on our livelihoods, because our national economies and bio-diversity will be affected, leading to increased competition for the scarce resource base. Uganda's population is most vulnerable because it is almost entirely dependent on the climate sensitive agricultural sector that is mainly rain fed. This vulnerability is compounded by the prevalent poverty and high illiteracy rates.
I don't think we have the capacity to adapt to climate change as yet. Do you still remember what Ugandan's faced when Lake Victoria's water levels receded; and also the floods in eastern and northern Uganda? Were you prepared? To monitor and mitigate negative impacts of climate change, we need sufficient local meteorological and dissemination capacity instead of over reliance on international weather centers that do not accurately address the local climate situations.
Empowering and investing in young people should not be over looked because about 80% of the population is made up of young people below the age of 30 years. So the idea of putting young people at the centre of controlling climate change would be a good initiative.
As food for thought, we need to pause and ask ourselves: What have we done in the past, what are we doing now, and what will we do in the future towards the environmental initiative?
Ambrose Murangira, the author, who is deaf, is a Masters student at Makerere University
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