Uganda must triple efforts in fighting climate change
What you need to know:
Uganda as a nation has also been affected by climate change and this mainly has been accelerated by human activities such as cutting down trees, swamp reclamation, and industrialisation
As world leaders meet in Sharm –el – sheik in Egypt for the COP 27 summit, countries need to come together to take action towards achieving the world’s collective climate goals as agreed under the Paris Agreement and the Convention. Thus finding ways and means of dialing down the negative effect of the greatest threat to humankind which is climate change.
Climate change denotes long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts may be natural, such as through variations in the solar cycle.
Uganda as a nation has also been affected by climate change and this mainly has been accelerated by human activities such as cutting down trees, swamp reclamation, and industrialisation.
This in the long term has led to irritable consequences that have affected the livelihoods of people and this has been experienced in form of floods, desertification, and reduction of forest cover. Some parts of the country such as Karamoja and Teso have been badly hit by drought and famine, which are mainly due to climate change.
In the words of United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Gutierrez during his speech at the COP 27 summit, “humanity has a choice to either cooperate or perish.”
The words by the UN secretary general made me reflect on the damage we human beings have done to the planet and made me wonder if God gave us dominion of earth to destroy. Instead, our duty is rather to conserve and ensure the earth and all its wonderful nature is protected.
As Share An Opportunity Uganda, a child focused Christian founded non- governmental organisation, we have taken action to reverse the impact of climate change and this has been achieved in the different project areas .
For example in Awach and Lotuke sub -counties in Abim District, we have managed to plant 30,800 tree seedlings with the aim of regenerating the climate and this is done in consideration of the different tree species that have been cut down.
Furthermore we have also promoted more ecofriendly methods of farming in the different project areas where our organization operates and these basically include encouraging agro forestry, which involves the growing of crops and trees , the use of organic fertilisers, the promotion of fruit tree growing and apiary .
The fight against climate change is war that has to be waged on all fronts.
The onus also falls unto community leaders and opinion leaders to raise awareness about the dangers climate change has on the environment and highlight the causes and the measures that can be used to mitigate its effects.
Benon Kyome, National Director of Share an Opportunity Uganda.
