By. Admin
Officials from National Planning Authority are asking all government departments, agencies and ministries to take serious climate change issues as they draw their annual plans as this will save the country from the likely dangers caused by climate change.
Speaking at the National Dissemination Workshop of the entry points for the National Adaptation Plan formulation organized by EMLI-Bwaise facility, Ronald Kaggwa the manager production, trade, tourism and planning at national planning authority reminds Uganda of the increasing internal displacement of people due to impacts of climate change which have occurred for a very long time in the country.
Kaggwa adds that if Uganda does not act on addressing climate change, this will affect the country’s growth as witnessed in worsening poverty levels where the poor have become poorer and surfer more with climate change adding that as people become more concerned about poverty, they need to think of combating climate change.
He further calls for synergies between climate change and development naming green jobs and emphasis on the cost of green growth against economic growth.
He assures environmentalists that for the first time Uganda is involving climate change issues in the national development plan of the country which will be integrated in all government agencies and departments as a cross cutting issue.
Muhammad Kasagazi who represented the acting commissioner climate change department in the ministry of water and environment reveals that government has contracted a private consultant (Zutali) who will work with local stakeholders to carry out the update process on NDC.
However, the programme officer at environment management for livelihood improvement Bwaise facility, Christine Mbatusa states that for the country to address effects of climate change, it needs to integrate national adaptation plan into the national development plan to well address issues of climate change in Uganda’s planning processes to help the country become more resilient to climate change issues.
EMLI-Bwaise facility in collaboration with SYLCAN Trust and southern voices on adaptation with support from Care Denmark formulated the entry points to inform the formulation of the national adaptation plan (NDC) which gives basis on what is existing on what the NDC should build on.
Christine now urges institutions to look at key sectors which are being prioritized by the national development plan to inform the national adaptation plan as well as the vision 2040 to be aligned with the NDC.
The entry point highlights less involvement of people with little focus on gender. However, it recommends that the gender perspective be highly considered while developing NDCs for Uganda.
Climate change continues to severely impact the lives and economy of Uganda due to rising temperatures and erratic rainfall that have resulted into droughts, floods and landslides causing long lasting effects and residual effects which calls for short and long term adaptation planning efforts.
In the long term, Uganda intends to follow a climate resilient and low carbon development path linked to green growth and broader sustainable development goals.
Uganda ratified both the UNFCCC protocol and developed the National climate change policy (2015) as an integrated response to climate change adaptation and mitigation.
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