Africa-Press – Uganda. The Uganda Water and Sanitation Network, UWASNET has asked President Museveni to become the lead champion on the war against environmental degradation to save it from destruction.
Addressing journalists on Wednesday, Yuniya Musaazi the Executive Director of UWASNET said Uganda should borrow a leaf from Kenya, Zambia, and Tanzania whose governments have taken environmental conservation seriously.
“One of the key things affecting climate change is lack of sensitization. We are seeing new buildings owned by both the poor and the rich in wetlands. We have seen case studies of what governments in Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia are doing to save the environment,” she said, adding that in Kenya, President Uhuru Kenyatta has been made the lead environmental conservation champion.
On Wednesday, the Uganda Water and Sanitation week opened at the Royal Suites Hotel in Kampala hosted by UWASNET. The meeting attracted participants working in NGOs involved in water and sanitation activities from Kenya, Zambia, and Tanzanian, who shared their experiences on the initiatives their countries are undertaking to combat environmental degradation.
According to Marlon Phiri, the Chairman Watch Forum Zambia, an NGO working on water and sanitation, their government has established Green Clubs in schools to support water and sanitation activities and creating awareness about climate change. He said the clubs teach students about the effects of deforestation, waste management care for the environment, and promote the reduction of carbon emission.
Vincent Ouma the programs officer of Kenya Water and Sanitation Civil society network, said after experiencing prolonged floods and severe droughts, recession in the River Banks, and disappearing forest cover, Kenyan NGOs decided to appoint President Uhuru Kenyatta as the lead champion in the fight against environmental degradation because Kenyans must survive.
According to Hellena Kasujja the deputy executive director of CIDI, they invited the Eastern Africa regional partners to get their perspective on how they have responded to climate change. She said Uganda is facing challenges of imbalanced eco-systems, wetland degradation, urbanization, which has increased flooding, mudslides, and extended droughts.
Ms Kasujja added that the meeting will come up with strategies of ensuring that there is a regional approach of putting policies into action to improve the quality of water and air and also ensure that forests are not turned into sugarcane plantations.
