More towns in Uganda to access clean water supply

BY SAMUEL NABWIISO

More towns in Uganda will access to improved water supply as Government plans to get concession loan from the African development Bank to Finance water supply projects in 10 towns across the country.

The concession loan worth a US$ 62-million which has been approved by the Continental Bank will support water projects under the  Strategic Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Project (STWSSP).The project will be implemented in five years period and it aims to  enable the government’s achieve sustainable provision of safe water and sanitation for the urban population by 2030. This in turn will help improved health and productivity in the targeted towns.

The STWSSP will help to tackle these challenges through its three components:  which are Urban Water Supply for the development of water supply systems for the selected towns/districts; and support regional water and sanitation authorities for effective utility management.

Improved Water supply in Bududa more towns will benefit from the African Development Bank Loan

Other component is the Improved Urban Sanitation and Environmental Management for the development of three regional faecal sludge treatment facilities supported by six desludging units; construction of 40 gender-segregated and disabled-friendly public sanitation facilities; and feasibility designs for climate change resilience.

And lastly the third component is the Sector Program Support for the regulatory framework and update of tariff policy; preparation of a framework for implementation of bulk water supply; and strengthening sector co-ordination and monitoring systems.

The primary towns to benefit from the concession loan are Kyenjojo-Katooke (Kyenjojo District), Nakasongola (Nakasongola District), Kayunga-Busana (Kayunga District), Kamuli (Kamuli District), Kapchworwa (Kapchorwa District), Dokolo (Dokolo District), Bundibugyo (Bundibugyo District) and Buikwe (Buikwe District.

On completion, the project will provide access to water and sanitation to 390,000 people by 2023.

The project will contribute to the goals of the Government’s Vision 2040 and the Second National Development Plan (NDP II), which aim to increase access to clean water and sanitation services in the major urban centres and their suburbs to 100% by 2030.

The STWSSP complements the Bank’s previous engagements such as the Small Towns Water and Sanitation Project, Kampala Sanitation Project, Kampala Urban Poor Project, Lake Victoria Water Supply and Sanitation Program, and Water Supply and Sanitation Program phase I and II.

The project, aligned to the Bank’s Uganda Country Strategy for 2017-2021, will accelerate the implementation of its Ten-Year Strategy, 2013-2022 as well as the High5 priority of Improving the Quality of life for the people of Africa.

The STWSSP is estimated to cost US$ 69.34 million, of which African Development Fund (ADF), will provide US$ 62.33 million, and US$ 6.94 million counterpart contribution from the Government of Uganda.

Garamba National park celebrates 80 years anniversary amidst conservation challenges

BY SAMUEL NABWIISO 

Garamba National in the Democratic Republic of Congo recently celebrated its 80 Anniversary as national park the colorful event was organized by the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Institute Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) and conservation organization African Parks.

Garamba is one of the continent’s oldest national parks, declared in 1938, and is an extremely diverse, globally important natural landscape. The 5,133 km2park, which is also a World Heritage Site, has been the decades-long target of militant poaching groups, including the Lord’s Resistance Army.

Rhino,s  in Garamba National park

Once home to 22,000 elephants, the Northern white rhino, and herds of Kordofan giraffe as recently as the 1970s, today there are fewer than 1,200 elephants remaining, the rhino has been extirpated, and only 48 Kordofan giraffe remain this problem has been fuelled by the increasing trade in illegal wildlife products. 

To ensure that more Animals are protected from poachers, African Parks assumed management of Garamba in partnership with the ICCN in 2005, this helped to curtail poaching because African parks overhauled law enforcement and implemented systems to match the level of threat, providing improved security for the park’s wildlife and surrounding communities. In just 18 months, elephant poaching has been reduced by fifty percent, and so far in 2018 only two elephants have been poached.

“The illegal wildlife trade has had devastating effects on our natural heritage, both in DRC and throughout Africa. It not only impoverishes landscapes, but negatively affects the millions of people relying on these areas as well” said the Director General of the ICCN Cosma Wilungula Balongelwa.

He adds that  “But seeing the emerging role a secure Garamba plays in the stability of the region, we are committed more than ever to combating poaching and to our partnership with African Parks, which is creating a safer landscape and a brighter future for countless people and wildlife in the region”.

The park’s 80thanniversary was attended by His Excellence the Governor of the Haut-Uélé province, dignitaries, partners, representatives from the EU, USAID, and Randgold Resources and over 1,000 community members. The Director General of ICCN Cosma Wilungula Balongelwa and CEO of African Parks Peter Fearnhead led the proceedings, during which a symbolic quantity of Garamba’s ivory stockpile was burnt. In an official parade to commemorate this historic occasion, the park also celebrated the passing out of 50 newly recruited and trained rangers, who will join the park’s law enforcement team.

“Garamba is one of Africa’s most challenging landscapes to protect, where both people and wildlife have borne tremendous costs inflicted by heavily-incentivized militant groups and regional instability” said Peter Fearnhead, CEO of African Parks.

He added by explaining that African parks will continue to work with ICCN to ensure that the park is protected from all kinds of threats

  “ What we’re demonstrating here with the ICCN and our partners is that with a shared vision, political will, donor support and engagement with local communities, we can shift the trajectory of this region and are now offering a safe place for biodiversity and people in even the most extraordinary circumstances” he said.

Garamba National park stretches distance of 261 kilometers it border with South Sudan, Garamba is situated in a volatile corner of north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Besides the constant threat of poaching by outside factions, the violence in neighbouring South Sudan has displaced thousands of people creating an increasing flow of refugees into the region who are depending on the park’s resources. 

Enlisted as a World Heritage Site in Danger in 1996, Garamba National Park is of irreplaceable natural value warranting significant efforts to secure its protection. After eighty years as a national park, spanning many losses and more recent signs of progress to restore stability, the commemoration occurs amidst growing concerns for the state of the world’s protected areas and World Heritage Sites. In 2017, thirty-six percent of World Heritage Sites were assessed as being of ‘significant concern’ or ‘critical’ in the IUCN World Heritage Outlook.

Kenya’s geothermal project gets support from African Development Bank

BY SAMUEL NABWIISO

The African Development Bank approved has approved a senior loan of US $29.5 million and a concessional loan of US $20 million from the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) Clean Technology Fund (CTF) to Quantum Power East Africa GT Menengai Ltd for geothermal project in Kenya .

The funding will support the development of a 35-MW geothermal power plant at the Menengai geothermal field in Nakuru County, Kenya, one of three modular geothermal plants in the Menengai field with a combined capacity of 105 MW.

Geothermal plant ,kenya  will  develop such plant with the funding from the African Development bank  

 The project is part of the CTF Geothermal Concessional Finance Program under the Dedicated Private Sector Program designed to finance programs that can deliver development results, impact, private-sector leverage and investment at scale and can be deployed rapidly and efficiently.

“Kenya has nearly 7,000 MW of geothermal potential, yet only about 200 MW is currently being developed,” said Amadou Hott, Vice-President, Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth at the African Development Bank.

He welcomed the approval, noting that “the partnership between the African Development Bank and the CIF to contribute to Kenya’s efforts in scaling up the development of this renewable resource and boost economic growth is commendable. The deployment of CTF funds is directly contributing to unlocking the power of the private sector in driving long-lasting market transformation and mitigating risks in the geothermal power sector.”

Quantum Power-Menengai Geothermal Project, the second geothermal independent power project in Kenya, will strengthen public-private partnerships and enable the country to harness its abundant geothermal resources to provide reliable, low-cost, environmentally friendly base-load electricity.

The Government of Kenya is also putting efforts into creating an enabling environment to enhance investment flows from private investors into the energy sector through the implementation of competitive tender processes in an attempt to lower the unit costs of geothermal power generation while lowering the costs of doing business and thus improving Kenya’s competitiveness in the region.

“The African Development Bank has invested considerable resources and time in the development of the Menengai geothermal steam field with the objective of enabling Kenya to find a productive source of steam for on-grid power generation,” said Anthony Nyong, Director for Climate Change and Green Growth at the African Development Bank. “The financial package being extended to this project shows strong commitment towards improving Kenya’s energy sector as well as tangible efforts to curb climate change and encourage green growth on the continent,” he said.

The project will provide positive environmental effects and contribute to green growth by developing renewable energy infrastructure (annual savings of up to 95,100 tons of CO2 equivalent) and increase the base-load, grid-connected generation capacity (potential to serve 48,800 households per year), at a low generation cost of 7 cents/kWh.

Strengthen Conservation regulations Chimpzee conservationist tell government

BY SAMUEL NABWIISO

 World famous   chimpanzee conservationist Dr.Jane Goodall has asked the government of Uganda through its conservation agencies to strengthen and Implement the conservation regulations in the country, which she said will reduce Incidences of Human to wildlife conflicts.

Addressing the press  at the  Jane Goodall Institute Head offices in Lubowa  Wakiso District along the Kampala Entebbe road,  Goodall noted that many   habitants for the wildlife animals have been encroached on  for  creating space for Agricultural Investment , charcoal burning  and Timber harvesting  this has forced many Wild animals to migrate  into people farms which results into human to wildlife conflicts.

Dr Jane Goodall in the middle with  stressing point during the media briefing

“The government need to  strengthen the implementation of conservation  laws that are in place  this will  promote conservation  for the future and also promote the development of tourism in the country  since Uganda is gifted with thousand species of wild  Animals” She said.

For the general public to Embrace conservation Dr.Jane Goodall advised the conservation agencies to work with various stakeholders such as the ministry of Education to ensure that conservation education is included in the national curriculum.

“We need to have generation that will save the country’s nature that is why it’s vital to start training the younger people especially those in primary and secondary level to embrace conservation “she told Journalists.

Dr. Goodall is celebrated for her ground-breaking research and publications on wild chimpanzees in Gombe, Tanzania, and as the first to introduce the observations that chimpanzees have distinct personalities and behaviors, like those of humans, into the scientific world.

Goodall  is in Uganda  to mark the 27 years  since she started  working on chimpanzee conversations under her  conservation firm Jane Goodall  Institute , In her visit the conservationist will hold various meeting with  government official and key stakeholder in the conservation sector.

Jane will  also interact with members of the Roots and  Shoots  the youth  organisation she stated  in 1991. Jane and the children  will visit  the chimpanzee,s  at the Uganda  Wildlife Education Center  Entebbe 

In Uganda the jane Goodall institute has played big role towards the conservations of chimpanzee in Bunyoro sub region especially in the district of Masindi and Kibaale.Forstance in masindi the jane goodaal institute has supported communities to come up with Income generating activities this has reduced pressures on the habitants for chimpanzees in the areas around Budongo central forest of which parts is habitant for chimps.

According to Dr Peter Apell the country Director for Jane Goodall Institute Uganda chapter their Intervention has enabled the communities to embrace conservation through empowering the communities economically, socially.

“The Intervention of the Institute has increased more awareness about the assets associated with conservation we have done this through conservation clubs in schools and even at the community level we hope that the more the public becomes aware about the importance of conservation  the more government will earn will conservation” He told the Media.    

   

United Nations Secretary-General's Message for the World Environments Day

Tomorrow the 5th/June /2018  the UN family will be celebrating the World Environments day .A healthy planet is essential for a prosperous and peaceful future. We all have a role to play in protecting our only home, but it can be difficult to know what to do or where to start. That’s why this World Environment Day has just one request: beat plastic pollution. Our world is swamped by harmful plastic waste.

1.                                     António Guterres the UN secretary General

Every year, more than 8 million tonnes end up in the oceans. Microplastics in the seas now outnumber stars in our galaxy. From remote islands to the Artic, nowhere is untouched. If present trends continue, by 2050 our oceans will have more plastic than fish.

On World Environment Day, the message is simple: reject single-use plastic. Refuse what you can’t re-use.

Together, we can chart a path to a cleaner, greener world.

Uganda will join the rest of the world to celebrate World Environment

Minister  for Water and Environment

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Uganda on the June 5, 2018 will join the rest of the world to celebrate World Environment’s day. The national celebrations will be hosted by Mbale district at the Mbale Cricket Grounds.

Writes  Samuel Nabwiiso , the WED is the United Nations’ principal vehicle for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the environment through the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) According to the statement from the Ministry of water and Environment signed by the Minister of water and Environment Hon Sam Cheptoris said this year’s event will be celebrated under the theme “Beat Plastic Pollution”.

 In line with this year’s theme, the national celebrations will specifically focus on exploring alternatives to avoidable single use polythene carrier bags commonly known as kaveera, which have become a menace to our environment

. “These polythene bags take hundreds of years to decompose and as such pollute our soils, becoming a threat to agriculture which is the backbone of Uganda’s economy. Kaveera also pollute our lakes & rivers, is a threat to marine life, have caused loss of livestock, both domestic and wild and as such hinder a  number of economic activities that are a source of livelihood to many communities” The Minister  said in statement

  

The unsafe use and indiscriminate disposal of polythene bags has been well documented to be toxic and harmful to human health, as such practices have been listed among causes of no communicable diseases such as respiratory infections, High Blood Pressure and cancer.

Mbale district once enjoyed the status of the cleanest town in East Africa. Also referred to as the ‘Jewel of East Africa’ at the time, Mbale had one of the most efficient waste management systems, but not anymore. Currently the sustainable garbage disposal systems and practices are deficient, partially as a result of the increasing population and the indiscriminate litter of plastics especially the plastic carrier bag

Since its inception in 1974, WED has developed into a global platform to raise awareness and prioritize the need for immediate personal, institutional, national and international interventions to protect the environment from the realities of Climate Change.

The World Environment day celebration will be coordinated by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA)T.

To create more awareness about the Environment al issues in the Country  NEMA has organized a number of activities to mark WED; including a tree planting campaign, city/town clean ups across the country, public  dialogues and environment awareness marathons in the districts of Mbale, Gulu and Mbarara among others.

 The World Environments day celebrations comes when the country’s Environment is facing huge challenge such as depletion natural resources such as forest cover  across the country , destruction of wetlands , pollution from Industries and poor disposal of wastes generated  in most urban towns .    

Wilderness Safaris to Open New Camp in Rwanda’s Akagera National Park

BY SAMUEL NABWIISO

Wilderness Safaris will be expanding its ecotourism footprint in Rwanda by opening a new camp in Akagera National Park in mid-December 2018 the new development is in partners with the Rwanda Development Board and conservation group African Parks

The six-tented camp, called Magashi, will be situated in the north-eastern part of Akagera overlooking Lake Rwanyakazinga. The long-term funding support of The Howard G. Buffett Foundation to African Parks for the protection and development of Akagera has made this further investment by Wilderness possible.

The modern tents to be elected in the national park

“As we celebrate our 35thyear of changing lives in 2018, we are proud to announce this exciting partnership with the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and African Parks, further demonstrating our commitment to pioneering sustainable and authentic ecotourism in Rwanda”, commented Grant Woodrow, Wilderness Safaris Chief Operations Officer.

The 100 000-hectare Akagera National Park is situated in eastern Rwanda, bordering Tanzania, and has been managed by African Parks in partnership with the RDB since 2010. It comprises some of the most scenic savannah in East Africa – open plains, woodlands, lakes, swamp, and grassy low mountains.

The intimate Magashi Camp will be set on the shores of Lake Rwanyakazinga – home to one of Africa’s highest hippo densities,  large crocodiles, and (hidden within its wetlands) the secretive sitatunga and shoebill stork. Akagera has undergone an incredible transformation in the last eight years where poaching has essentially been eliminated and wildlife is now thriving. African Parks reintroduced lions in 2015 after a 20-year absence and reintroduced the black rhinoceros in 2017.

Guests will be able to view a range of wildlife on expertly-guided game drives, walks and boating trips, including buffalo, lion, leopard, elephant, giraffe, spotted hyaena, zebra, topi, roan, eland and more. The Park also boasts almost 500 species of birds including the spectacular shoebill with its implausibly massive bill and the near-endemic red-faced barbet.

herds of elephant in the Akagera National park 

“There is no doubt that to date the overwhelming focus on gorillas has caused many travellers to miss beautifully scenic and productive savannahs of Rwanda. Now, with the launch of Magashi, our guests will have the ideal opportunity to combine an extraordinary gorilla experience at Volcanoes National Park whilst staying at Bisate Lodge, with a spectacular savannah safari at Akagera” added. Woodrow.

 Add to this the prospect of viewing chimps and other primates of the forests in the western side of the country and Rwanda offers a complete standalone high-end safari experience”, added Woodrow.