Information crucial in water use

Information crucial in water use, says DWRM Director

By Ronald Musoke

Use of the water resources can improve with increased dissemination of information, according to the director of the Directorate of Water Resources Management (DWRM), Engineer Shillingi Mugisha. At a consultative workshop with media practitioners in April in Kampala, the media was asked to help pass no relevant information to the public.

The Directorate of Water Resources Management is responsible for managing Uganda’s water resources in an integrated and sustainable manner in order to secure and provide water of adequate quantity and quality for all social and economic needs for the present and future generation. The DWRM regulates water usage in the country and is also responsible for monitoring, assessment and information services; planning and regulation as well as provision of technical advice.

“The development of a comprehensive communication strategy to address these need us to come together and discuss issues related to water resources development and management in the country,” said the director.

“As you are all aware, water is life and provision of safe and adequate drinking water is a fundamental human right as enshrined in the constitution of Uganda.”

Engineer Mugisha added that in order to ensure that services are provided with increased efficiency and effectiveness, the water and sanitation sector has been undergoing reforms. Sub sector studies have been completed in four areas of urban water and sanitation; rural water and sanitation, water for production and water resources management.

He said inadequate and poor management of water resources has a cause and effect on poverty, adding that these two factors deny Ugandans, especially the poor; an adequate supply of clean water thus increasing disease burden, time and energy spent collecting water and general effort on the well being.

Current safe water coverage for Uganda’s rural and urban areas is said to be 63 and 68 per cent respectively according to Ms Florence Adongo, the Commissioner in the Department of Quality Water Resources Management (DQWRM) at the Directorate in Entebbe.

And although Uganda is said to have enough fresh water resources with recent United Nations estimates indicating 66 cubic kilometres of renewable water resources per year - which correspond to around 2,800 cubic metres per person each year, the current scenario is set to change in a few years because of several factors.

“The water resources are under threat from over exploitation and pollution. You therefore need to ensure that they are sustainably developed and protected from pollution so that they can be available for the present and future generations,” Mugisha said.

Research shows that the country’s fresh water is increasingly being exploited because of population growth, urbanization, agriculture and industrialisation and with the advent of climatic change; water resources will soon be over stretched.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and UN Water, water use around the world has been growing at more than the rate twice of population increase in the last century. Water withdrawals are predicted to increase by 50 per cent by 2025 in developing countries according to the Global Environment Outlook.

Further estimates by the UN indicate that by 2025, about 1.8 billion people will be living in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity, and two thirds of the world population could be under stress conditions. This calls for proper management of these resources because fresh water resources are classified as finite resources■

A section of the River Nile, one of Uganda’s most important water resources

Africa’s poor threatened by foreign land acquisitions

By Obadiah Ayoti

The poor will continue to be denied access to land, water and other resources as land acquisitions increase in Africa and other continents. A recent study by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) at the request of UN Food and Agriculture Organization and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), paints a sorry picture. It warns that while such deals can bring many opportunities such as employment, investment in infrastructures and increases in agricultural productivity), they can also cause great harm if local people are excluded from decisions about allocating land and if their land rights are not protected. The report highlights a number of misconceptions about what have been termed as ‘land grabs.’ It found that landbased investment has been rising over the past five years. But while foreign investment dominates, domestic investors are also playing a big role in land acquisitions. Private sector deals are more common than government-to-government ones, though governments are using a range of tools to indirectly support private deals. Concerns about food and energy security are key drivers, but other factors such as business opportunities, demand for agricultural commodities for industry and recipient country agency are also at play. Although large-scale land claims remain a small proportion of suitable land in any one country, contrary to widespread perceptions there is very little “empty” land as most remaining suitable land is already under use or claim, often by local people.

The report found that many countries do not have sufficient mechanisms to protect local rights and take account of local interests, livelihoods and welfare. A lack of transparency and of checks and balances in contract negotiations can promote deals that do not maximise the public interest. Insecure local land rights, inaccessible registration procedures, vaguely defined productive use requirements, legislative gaps and other factors too often undermine the position of local people.

Co-authors Sonja Vermeulen and Lorenzo Cotula of IIED caution that land acquisitions vary greatly and that blanket statements about land-grabbing are highly misleading.” Alexander Mueller, Head of the Environment and Natural Resources Department at FAO stresses the need for foreign investment and large-scale land acquisitions in the context of global environment and food security challenges. “This new trend is a result of the recent food crisis and volatility of food prices, among other factors. The new challenges of global food insecurity and global investment should be addressed through appropriate regulations, and well-informed agricultural and food policies■

STONE GROUP OF COMPANIES Beautiful Buildings for Beautiful People Beautiful Buildings for Beautiful People

Keeping it Green

Hima Cement commits to plant more trees to counter effects of climate change

By Our Reporter

That Hima Cement is committed to environmental conservation is not in doubt. Through several initiatives aimed at mitigating the effects of global warming, the company is making a significant contribution.

The company recently launched a campaign under its Green Schools Project. This project is under execution in 28 schools countrywide and the new campaign is expected to augment the 95,000 trees already planted.

The project that started two years ago aims at inculcating a culture of environmental care among school children by involving them, their teachers and school communities in tree planting and nurturing them.

The Green Schools Project engages schools in planting and maintenance of 5000 trees provided by Hima Cement over a two to three year period. The trees once harvested benefit the school as a source of renewable energy.

Schools are also motivated by construction of concrete water tanks of 10,000 litres to harvest rain water, construction of pit latrines, and provision of desks. This both improves the learning environment in schools and encourages commitment to the project.

Hima Cement’s marketing and communications coordinator, Cerinah Zalwango says, “We strongly believe that tree planting will make a valuable contribution to the fight against global climate change, as well as providing wider environmental and social economic benefits.

We further believe that inculcating this culture among school going children at a tender age and the community at large is a good step needed to make a difference globally.”

Zalwango says the company has joined global efforts of CO2 reduction by implementing a project dubbed “ Bio Fuels Project” in which the company has so far planted over 600,000 tree species of high calorific value that will at maturity be shredded and added to the coffee and rice husks that the company is currently using in the alternative fuel substitution project.

“Last year Hima Cement was able to achieve up to 30.8 per cent substitution rate in burning our kiln with alternative fuels. This was an improvement from 27.9 percent in the previous year. With the Bio

Pupils of Hima Green Schools Project in Kamwenge tending their trees

Specific CO2 reduction ( tCO2/t Clinker) 0.18 0.16 0.14 0.12 0.10 0.08 0.06 0.04 0.02 Carbon Emissions

25,000

20,000

15,000

10,000

5,000

CO2 reduction (tCO2)

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009YTD

CO2 Reduction (tCO2) tCO2/ton clinker reduction

Fuels project, we shall be able to substitute fossil fuels in our production process by a much higher percentage and save the environment significant CO2 emissions,” she says.

The alternative fuels project also contributes to income generation for farmers and transporters of coffee and rice that supply the company with coffee and rice husks.

Under its quarry rehabilitation programme, the company is rehabilitating over 24 hectares of land that was previously mined. To date over 40,000 trees have been planted in this area, attracting a number of Uganda Kobs from Queen Elizabeth National Park, and a variety of bird species from the Rwenzori ranges. Hima intends to create a mosaic of habitats that will appeal to a variety of species of flora and fauna, says, Dennis Kashero, the Commercial Manager Hima Cement■