Govt launches water and environment week

The Ministry of Water and Environment has started a one-week engagement roadmap aimed at rallying Ugandans in conserving the environment and embracing a healthy livelihood.

The action-packed week will run from March 12 to March 17, with activities coordinated from the ministry headquarters in Luzira, Kampala.

The theme of the campaign is “Water and Environment for climate-resilient development”.

The event, which started in 2018, promotes a multinational and integrated approach that links all sectors of the water and environment in making explorations and deliberations of climate resilience.

The week commemorates three sector days: World Water Day, the World Forestry Day and the World Meteorological Day.

The Commissioner for Water Resources at the Ministry of Water and Environment, Dr Callist Tindimugaya, yesterday said the events will be held across the country.

“We started in 2018 and we have stakeholders from all walks of life. We dialogue and share experiences on how best we can utilise these resources for the present and future generation,” he said.

He added that they have pre-event activities that were kicked-started about two weeks before the actual week.

“We have activities like football matches, clean-up exercises, restoration activities, and demonstration on how resources can be used to create wealth. We also have runs on which people will appreciate the importance of Lake Victoria and the Nile. We also have a 320km-walk that will take 10 days, among others,’’ he said.

Dr Tindimugaya said the actual event activities [from Sunday to Friday] will involve trainings and speeches from key panel experts at the ministry’s headquarters.

Water and the environment are like two sides of a coin. Water is part of the environment and we need to have it in good condition. The trees are very important in production of water and the trees also need water to survive.

“We also need to protect the wetland because they store and purify the water. We need to protect the hill so that water will not be silted,’’ he said.

On climate resilience, the ministry indicates that they are discussing with officials from the Works ministry to develop a programme dubbed: Roads for water and water for roads.

“People who construct roads must work closely with officials of the Water ministry. We need to protect the roads from being washed away. We are also working with the Energy ministry people to ensure the hydropower schemes are resilient. We must store the water and control the speed,’’ Dr Tindimugaya said.

The ministry is organising the event with support from the Water Resources Institute and other development partners.  “The ministry funds about 20 percent of the activities and 80 percent are funded by development partners from Uganda and abroad,” he said.

The ministry thanks the cultural institutions of Buganda, Tooro, Rweziruru and Busoga, among others, for always being top partners in many of their activities.

“We are also working with the religious institutions under the Uganda Joint Christian Council. We also have civil society organisations joining,’’ Dr Tindimugaya said.

The ministry plans to scale up on data collection on water and climate changes to make critical decisions called Early Warning Systems.

“This [systems] will involve receiving alert messages on phones, media etc [on climate-related matters],’’ the ministry said.

The Water and Environment ministry has six regional offices in Karamoja, Lira, Wakiso, Mbarara, Fort Portal, and Mbale.