Climate Talk Uganda With Josephine Karungi

This is a timely and profound exploration of the strategies, passions and frustrations of environmental activism over a long period of time. Founded in 1983, Joint Energy Environment Projects exists to promote efficient use of natural resources and prevent the destruction of forests. Forty years after its founding, how does the CEO, Ruth Kiwanuka, reflect on her experiences; the progress that has...

How do you prepare for outbreaks of malaria if climate change means that mosquitoes which spread the disease are thriving in areas that were previously off limits? When it comes to public health, climate change makes a tricky situation even more difficult. In this episode Dr Muganzi David Jolly and Dr Ian Clarke discuss how AI might play a role in helpiing Uganda meet this challenge. Dr Muganzi Da...

Janet Kantalama Kantana joins Josephine to talk about how we can understand mental health challenges in the age of climate change. We explore how our inner wellbeing is affected when day to day life is disrupted by intense or unpredictable weather events. And we talk about measures we can take - individually and collectively - to make sure we are mentally resilient in those circumstances. Janet Ka...

Surges in malaria and other diseases; damage to clinics and other physical infrastructure; decreased access to immunisation and mental health services; illnesses due to increased heat and humidity; declining maternal and child health outcomes. These are just some of the health related impacts of climate change. In the first in a series of episodes focusing on health, Dr Didacus B. Namanya explains...

Over the past few weeks we've been exploring fluctuations in the price of food and other commodities like coffee and cocoa. In this episode we're taking a step back and revisiting the causes of climate change, the need for adaptation, and the importance of integrated policy approaches from government. Our guest is Anthony Kagoro, who is a Climate Change Specialist at the Food and Agriculture Organ...

Tracing the connections between the price of the food you put on your table, global commodity markets, local conditions and climate change is incredibly complex. Today we have probably Uganda's most important expert in the field joing us. Professor Bernard Bashaasha is Professor of Agricultural and Development Economics at Makerere University College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences‬. He...

Matoke! Irish potatoes! Mangoes! What more could you want? The on-the-ground impacts of price fluctuations on these foods are felt day to day and season to season by traders in the markets around Kampala. William Ssekiranda speaks to three traders at Kalerwe Market about where they source their produce and how price variations affect them.

The price of coffee and many staple foods in Uganda have been rising steeply: good news for sellers (farmers), not so good news for consumers. And these price rises have been attributed to extreme weather due to climate change. In the first of two episodes, Josephine explores this link, and what it means for growing and selling coffee in Uganda and beyond. In our next episode we'll be looking at t...

Nicholas Najuna and Namutebi Muniirah are each developing new technologies to deal with aspects of climate change that particularly affect small holder farmers. Nicholas is founder and CEO of Afrotym , developing what they refer to as a 'waterbank' - a natural, biodegradable way of storing moisture within the soil. Namutebi Muniirah is co-founder of Umuntu Agrobiotics where her team has been devel...

Controlling the ripening of fruits and vegetables could be a major step forward in securing incomes for farmer and traders, as well as mitigating the impacts of climate change on the entire production chain. In this episode two traders from Kasubi Market in Kampala talk to WIlliam Ssekiranda about the challenges posed by the perish-ability of the produce they sell. Then we hear from two Ugandan in...

Only the USA and China produce more greenhouse gases than food wastage. According to FAO estimates, the food that is lost and wasted could feed 1.26 billion hungry people every year. Brett Rierson has spent many years in the agricultural sector in Africa, and he's got some great perspectives on the causes of food wastage, how exactly it makes climate change worse, and what can be done to stop it....

Felix Muchiri of Green Hub East Africa discusses the benefits of boda-bodas that are not powered by petrol engines in a city where climate change impacts can be intense. 'We envision a time when the skies in Kampala can just be blue,' he says. Felix is a mechatronics and electronics engineer, and a passionate advocate for electric boda-bodas as one way of creating a sustainable, climate friendly t...

Going to work, school or shopping, cycling can be the easiest way to get around a congested city. As long as you can do it without fear of dying. Activist, community educator and avid cyclist Owiny Hakim explains what it's like to cycle in Kampala and why an integrated, comprehensive approach to making cycling easier and safer could pay huge dividends in the future. As the city grapples with the c...

Dealing with waste water - it's not glamourous but there are opportunities. From storing water for use in irrigation to treating it for re-use. Featuring Julius Musiimenta, who's been a sanitation and hydraulics consultant for many years. A graduate of Makerere University and IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, he is currently working on a range of solutions dealing with water management in a...

'The bridge that was designed for 1960 can not be the same bridge for today.' Sanitary engineer and water management specialist Julius Musiimenta talks to Josephine about all aspects of what happens to water when it arrives in large amounts at unpredictable times, how it impacts infrastructure and how it can be best dealt with in an uncertain future. Julius Musiimenta has been a sanitation and hyd...

Following on from our main episode this week, Dr Max Kigobe of Makerere University talks about researching historical rainfall patterns, modeling future rainfall events, and why he first got interested in understanding Uganda's climate.

Drains, culverts, pipes and ditches: facilities you probably never think about. But vital to ensuring that Uganda is able to cope with the increased number and intensity of rainfall events brought on by climate change. What it comes down to is this: there's an urgent, ongoing need for integrated planning at all levels if Uganda is to successfully adapt to the challenges of climate change. So says...

Deep stuff in this conversation. As a prelude to the next few episodes that'll explore climate change, infrastructure and transportation, we touch on the background to climate change in Uganda; agriculture, engineering and bridges; organisational thinking, the politics of climate change and economic justice. Professor Revocatus Twinomuhangi is Associate Professor and Dean of the School of Forestry...

Teddy Aine is a student based in Kampala, Joel Cherop is a farmer and entrepreneur from the Sebei ranges of Mt Elgon, and Taban Malis George is a student at Victoria University with a background in aviation management. Toegther with William Ssekiranda of the production team they offer their reflections on our first few episodes, and how their thinking around climate change is evolving. We'll be ma...

Too much water. Too Little water. Water in all the wrong places, at the wrong times. That pretty much sums up global rainfall in the age of climate change. This week we explore the particular challenges we face in Uganda in adapting to unpredictable and extreme rainfall events. Joining us is Makerere University PhD candidate Judith Kobusinge, who shares her knowledge of the water cycle, how it's d...

Agriculture + Forestry = Agroforestry. Growing trees and agricultural crops together in a complementary relationship has been happening for thousands of years. In this episode we hear from two locations: Bukerekere Village in Central Uganda and Rhino Camp Refugee Settement in the Arua District, in the north west of the country. From these geographically distinct areas we hear first-hand how agrofo...

Between 75% and 80% of women provide farm labor in Uganda, yet only around 25% of women own land in their own right. Josephine Karungi examines how this impacts the ability of women to adapt to climate change, and the knock on effects on family wellbeing. We hear from farmer Kyomuhendo Annet Katusiime in Buwanuka, on how a changing climate necessitates new approaches to farming; and from Carol Kay...

The compelling Agnes Kirabo of Uganda's Food RIghts Alliance joins us this week from the Africa Food Systems Forum in Kigali, with her take on the conversations happening there around climate change, hunger and nutrition. She shares a tip from her mother on the best time for planting, and her own perspectives on the challenges and opportunities that climate change is bringing to Uganda. Our in-dep...

Gerald Tenywa has been reporting for the last two decades on wildlife, ivory trafficking, forests, wetlands, pollution, oil, land, water and climate change. Ole Rasmussen is currently head of the Green Economy Team with Royal Danish Embassy in Uganda. We talk about how they first started working on climate change issues; what they've witnessed as communities are forced to adapt to sudden change; m...

Achilles Byaruhanga is the Executive Director of Nature Uganda, and he's an amazing person to listen to. This conversation with Josephine Karungi begins with the resilience and beauty of Marabou Storks (yes, you heard that right) and quickly moves on to the magical nature of wetlands, the vital importance of birdlife in Ugandan ecosystems, water resources and climate change, and the economic oppor...