Ebenezer T. Bifubyeka (Ten),Biafra, Mbarara, western Uganda.
ANKOLE cattle corridor is in urgent need of trees to save people and livestock during the prevailing climate change. Over half of the water sources, pastures and over seventy percent of boreholes have dried up!
Ankole cattle corridor (right from districts of Karagwe in north-western Tanzania, Isingiro, Mbarara, Kiruhuura, Sembabule, Rakai through Kyoga, Nakasongola, Moroto up to Kotido in Uganda) is the convergence zone for the warm ocean currents.
Breezes from say, Indian Ocean, are warm; and there are no high hills in Ankole cattle corridor to intercept them upwards and cool them. There is no raised topography to intercept the warm breezes, condense them and form rain in the area, according to NEMA’s Western Regional Public Awareness Officer, Jeconious Musingwire.
Man’s activities are worsening Ankole cattle corridor’s vulnerability – yet it is naturally vulnerable to climate change as influenced by the continued Sea Surface Temperatures over the Eastern and Central Equatorial Pacific Ocean!
People have encroached on fragile ecosystems like wetlands and forests on hilltops both near and within Ankole cattle corridor thus causing a harsh drought! The drought has resulted from the 0.3ºC increment in temperature (within the last 10 years) from the mean annual maximum temperatures of above 27ºC!
Sadly, the farmers’ lost hope that was resurfacing over the newly formed ‘stagnant water bodies’ (that many people mistaken as lakes) in Sanga, Nyabushozi in Kiruhuura district – won’t last long!
Ten months ago, ‘Lake Kayanja’ was formed between Lyantonde and Mbarara. This water body – that seems to be the farmers’ rescue – has resulted from the back flow during the reconstruction of Masaka-Mbarara highway.
In the same grazing area, a few other water bodies have been formed from the runoff from the surrounding hilltops, where pastures have been overgrazed by farmers and trees massively harvested by charcoal burners!
According to the water and soils specialist, Festus Bagora, pastures on the deforested hilltops will continue to dry up regardless of the presence of rainfall because the runoff that formed new water bodies eroded fertile soils!
A documentary, Climate Change: Uganda national adaptation programmes of action (NAPA) 2007 from the ministry of water and environment, states that: forests can modulate the climate of an area through microclimate.
Microclimate is the improvement of humidity (water in the air) around the wetlands and forests as witnessed by the presence of dew in the morning – a phenomenon that is rarely experienced today – over the change of climate!
Forests play an important role in moderating climate. The Virunga Tropical Forest in Congo (in conjunction with Karinju, Maramagambo and East Kasyoha Kitomi Tropical High Forest in western Uganda) – influences the climate of western Uganda.
Forests contribute highly in the hydrological cycle (the sequence of evaporation and condensation that controls the distribution of the earth’s water as it evaporates from water bodies, condenses, precipitates, and returns to water bodies).
I’m afraid our efforts to conserve the environment might be ineffective if the developed countries don’t reduce on their carbon emissions. Gas emission from developed nations is more responsible for the changing climate – yet the underdeveloped countries like Uganda are the worst hit by impacts of climate change!
Therefore, the onus is on our leaders to pester the developed countries – not only to reduce their gas emission – but also financially assist the least developed nations to adapt to climate change.
Meanwhile, as an effective solution to the escalating climate change, Uganda should engage climate change programmes in everything she does, since 80 to 90 percent of all disasters in the country are water and climate related.
Ends.
Word count: 588.
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