Govt must walk climate change talk

On  April 19, the Ministry of Water and Environment launched a series of activities to commemorate the 2023 World Environment Day.

National objective X111 of the Constitution provides for the protection of Uganda’s natural resources, including land, water, wetlands, flora, and fauna. However, the country continues to witness a rapid decline in the encroachment of natural resources.

This has continued to expose mankind to climate change effects such as extreme heat and drought.

Effective policy implementation has dropped precipitously, halving the nation’s objectives of achieving sustainable development goals; number six on ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation, and number 13 on taking urgent actions to combat climate change.

While looking at a few environmental policies within our great nation, for example, the National Climate Change Policy, Environmental and Social Safeguard Policy, Climate Charter 2018 to 2022, Environmental Impact Assessment Regulation, and National Environmental Act 2019, among others, the government’s commitment towards achieving the mandate remains very invisible on the ground. Our climate change and environmental policies remain merely symbolic and do not include stiff penalties for non-compliance. This is one of the reasons why our policy efforts keep failing.

The National Resistance Movement’s manifesto for 2016 to 2022 targets enforcement in safeguarding forests and wetlands. However, the current Environmental Protection Police Unit (EPPU) stands below 186 personnel compared to the force of 350 required in the short and medium term.

The concept of the Public Trust Doctrine as one of the basic principles of international law, which is supposed to be implemented by the National Environmental Management Authority (Nema), is not being implemented well yet it is both civil and common law that other countries in Africa keep implementing.

Take the case of the recently alleged acquisition of land in a wetland in Wakiso District by the Parliament Sacco. The smear of a top organ of government (the Legislature) that ideally should be the cornerstone of law abidance is detrimental to the future generation.

The storyline looks to be off the hook, but the public keeps watching, with many sobbing in silence. The public trust doctrine requires that the government preserves and protects certain resources that government holds in trust for the public. The policy is, therefore, being violated in broad daylight by the State. If you look around, most of the wetlands or swamps within the Metropolitan Kampala Area have been “given away’’ to private individuals for private investments. Lwera Wetland has become the epitome of “illegal and excessive sand mining’’.

It is a ripe time for the State Minister for Investment and Privatisation and Nema to work together and establish how private investors continue acquiring licences to establish projects in wetlands.

There is also the signage of officials perpetuating the sale of wetlands, this must urgently be stopped. While there has been a proliferation of environmental issues, the obstacles to robust climate change policy can also be addressed through the effective political will of State actors. This will help us achieve a broad-based policy implementation on climate change.

Uganda’s Vision 2040 calls for, among others, the development of appropriate adaption and mitigation strategies on climate change to ensure that Uganda is sufficiently cushioned from any adverse impact brought by climate change.

Last week, thousands were battling dangerously high temperatures in the United States as record heat forecasts hung over Europe and Japan.m In this latest example of the threat from global warming, the Environment ministry must acknowledge that policy implementation is key to saving mother earth.

There are basic strategies that do not require rocket science. Take the campaign door-to-door and focus on mindset change.

The government should also identify key heroes and heroines championing environmental conservation, for example, the unemployed youth picking plastics for sale in Kampala Metropolitan Area, and empower them. Institutions such as churches and schools should be the bedrock of environmental programmes.

Saving our natural resources ushers in a roadmap for mitigating climate change.                 

Mr Chelimo is a board member of the Young Farmers’ Federation of Uganda (Unyfa).

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