Following the extreme heat happening in various parts of the country, Uganda’s parliamentary speaker, Annet Anita Among has encouraged the public to be champions of environmental conservation to reduce the effects of climate change.
Speaking during the plenary sitting on Wednesday, Among noted the excessive heat occasioned by high temperatures that the country is experiencing.
“This is a reminder that climate change is real and unless we take deliberate mitigation measures, we remain at risk,” the Speaker said.
Among implored Members of Parliament to invest time and effort in environmental conservation, afforestation, responsible waste disposal, industrial monitoring and surveillance to curb outdoor air pollution.
Members of Parliament supported the call with a section attributing the heatwave to the depletion of forest cover.
Samuel Acuti, the Kole North MP said that Northern Uganda is facing extreme effects of the heatwave which he attributed to rampant charcoal burning in the area.
“There is a need to come up with strong regulations on the charcoal trade in the country. And even with afforestation, we should mind the kind of trees we are planting. You cannot cut down mahogany and plant pine trees,” he said.
Lawrence Biyika, the Ora County MP said that the heatwave has led to several casualties and attributed the effects of climate change to negative human activities.
He emphasized the need to address challenges in the environmental sector.
Beatrice Anywar, the Minister for Water and Environment, decried the lack of sufficient resources to facilitate climate change interventions.
Anywar expressed frustration over competing budgetary priorities and beseeched the House to consider allocating more funds to the Ministry.
“The interventions are slow-paced, but it is not deliberate. We work within the available budget”, the Minister said.
She apprised the House, saying that the Ministry had issued a statement warning the country about the impending calamities.
David Bahati, the Minister of State for Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives, informed the House that he had been directed by the President to commence the process of compensating people who will vacate the wetlands in Kigezi, Busoga, and other regions to protect the environment.
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