Environmental activists led by Xavier Ejoyi, the Country Director of ActionAid Uganda, have asked the government to increase funding for agroecology (sustainable farming that works with nature), noting that it is under-prioritised.
Ejoyi was speaking Thursday during a Climate Justice Symposium held at Makerere School of Public Health. The Climate Justice Week of Action climaxed with a symposium at Makerere University with a Solidarity March that started from City Square in the Central Business District.
According to Ejoyi, ActionAid has done a study on the leading causes of climate change noting that one of them is fossil fuel production, which has increased over time is depleting the ozone layer.
“The second one which is hardly talked about is large scale farming is contributing to climate change, usually destroying natural green cover and the ecosystems.”
ActionAid and its partners are emphasizing the urgent need for actionable commitments and financial investments in climate justice.
“We need to fix the financing of climate justice to alleviate the livelihoods of vulnerable communities. We shouldn’t just sit and look on when these vulnerable people are suffering,” noted Ejoyi.
He said ActionAid reaches out to 45 districts in Uganda and has a physical presence in 13 of them.
“We have programs aimed at building community resilience and we are making progress but it’s not enough. The impacts of climate change are intensifying globally and in different parts of our country Uganda. Locally, we have seen water levels of Lake Victoria rise and subsequently flooding in the areas around Lake Kyoga.”
He said in Western Uganda, there were landslides, flooding and loss of lives. “In 2023, over 2000 lives were lost in areas of Karamojo and Teso. Kigezi one of the coldest regions in Uganda, now has malaria yet mosquitoes wouldn’t survive in the region.”
He added: “We need to put money on solutions to climate change and not on things that will continue to degrade the environment and fuel climate change. We need to put all that money into the use of renewable energy and promotion of agroecology.”
On her part, Mercy Grace Munduru, a lawyer currently serving as the Head of Marketing, Communications and Public Relations at Onduparaka Football Club, cited a need to know that the transition from investment in fossil fuels to renewable energy should be one cognizant of what the vulnerable communities are going through.
“We are calling upon our government to commit resources to fund agroecology for the people at the grassroots level. These are people negatively impacted. We need to invest in renewable energy and commit money to agroecology,” she noted.
She added: “We need to remember that there are particular groups of people and regions that are most affected, so I need us to ensure that the transition we are pushing for is just.”
According to her, they cannot discuss a crisis without talking about money because there are people negatively impacted and not enough money to correct this.
“We are offering solutions that we ourselves have tested in various communities and can confirm that they work.”
Speaking during the symposium, Prof. Julius Kizza, an Associate Professor of Political Economy and Development in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at Makerere University, defined climate change as identifiable variations in weather, such as those determined using statistical tests (not dogma), that persist for an extended period, such as decades, and impact the ecosystem.
“Let’s not confuse natural climate fluctuations with human-induced climate change. While climate variability is a natural phenomenon, climate change is a pressing issue that demands action,” he noted.
He said to distinguish between the two, there is a need for robust evidence and statistically significant data.
“Eco injustice disproportionately affects the poor, marginalized, and voiceless. Climate justice aims for fair development and equity across generations. Let’s advocate for fairness,” he stated.
He said not all climate variability equals climate change. Climate variability occurs naturally, but climate change requires action.
“It must be empirically verifiable and statistically significant. When we talk about climate justice, we mean using today’s resources to meet the needs of the current generation fairly and equitably, while also considering the needs of future generations,” he added.
