By Adiga Juilius
The manager climate change at World Wide Fund-Uganda, Jacob Etinganan is challenging communities in westnile to develop special and local climate change adaptation and mitigation plans for the region if they are to crack down on the effects of climate change.
Addressing a meeting of environmental CSOs in the westnile districts today, Jacob stresses that, adaptation plans developed locally always bear fruits faster as compared to foreign imposed strategies.
He also reminds them that since climate change comes along with numerous challenges, he asks them to tap into the existing challenges namely, long drought, floods, among others, to find solutions to the problem at hand.
However, the principal assistant secretary, Arua district local govt, Andua Martin Drani demands that experts in the environment field create more allies to fuel plans geared towards combating climate change in the country.
He also decries the continued merciless destruction of environment by mostly the rich in the guise of investment, saying they are not taking care of the future generation which is a serious problem to this great nation.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Ssemambo, the official from the climate change department in the ministry of water and environment says, govt is working hard to set up policies and regulations to see that climate change impacts are mitigated.
He mentions some of the policies among them being, climate change policy, Paris agreement, and the East African climate change regulations, which are a manifestation that govt is willing to save the endangered environment.
Meanwhile, leaders from Westnile NGOs are questioning the governing arm of this nation, which they blame for not taking faster action to see that climate change effects are mitigated.
The academia, Dr. Micheal Mboga from the college of forestry at Makerere university tells the meeting that temperature in Uganda are likely to go about to 15 degrees celicious by 2030 and between 0.9-3.3 degrees celicious by 2060.
Uganda’s climate has changed over time as witnessed in increased temperature, change in rain fall patterns as witnessed with long dry spells now in December, January to February and sometimes heavy rains, causing floods, mad slides.
The two days meeting is to sensitize communities in westnile on climate change and how to draw adaptation and mitigation strategies to save the region of adverse effects of climate change from hitting them hard.
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