A new wave of Environmental Activism is taking the World by storm with thousands of protestors taking on the streets of major capitals, demanding for Action from Governments to come up with better policies on the environment.
These Mass protests have sent a message home and have aroused optimism and awareness about the environment across the globe. What remains to be seen is if governments can follow suit by coming up with sustainable policies which will ensure a clean air, fresh water and a green Environment. Treaties like the Paris Agreement on Climate Change have been sigend before but the impact is yet to be felt. Signs of Climate Change are visibe in most parts of the World. Floods in Mozambique and on the coastal town of Mombasa, Mudslides in eastern Uganda, not to mention the femine in Eithiopia and drought in Kenya. The list is rapidly growing.
As we seek for solutions, consideration should be placed on poverty alleviation mechanisms and on dealing with social inequities prevalent in the south. These inequities have reinforced poverty in the developing countries . It is a Public secret that poverty is the leading cause of Environmental Degradation in the developing countries. In Africa alone, over 250 million peopledont have access to electricity, while in Uganda , 70 percent of the population depends on firewood and charcol and cant afford the high power prices. This has been a major cause of Environmental degradation as communities struggle to survive on a daily basis, deforestation takes continues unabated. Sustainable solutions should focus more on empowering women and youths to utilise resources within their means to become self employed. Skilling programs should take root at grassroot level to enable youths and women acquire employable skills. But most importantly, developing countries should be given reasonable accessibility to market thier agricultural commodities in the European markets. This will create real Climate Justice and fair game. Governments and Ngos need to empower communities with skills in Climate Smart Agriculture with emphasis placed more in optimising production from the limited land we have on the continent. This will not only create Climate resilient communities, but also create employment for rural populations.
For God and my Country.
Written by,
Kiwalabye Ronald
Director- Schools Tree Project
