Uganda depends heavily on the environment and natural resources. Future sustainability in agriculture, food security, and general livelihoods relies significantly on environmental conservation and sustainability. However, the country is subjected to environmental problems which put economic, environmental, and social development at risk. These include soil degradation, deforestation, drainage of wetlands, loss of biodiversity, pollution, and unsanitary conditions.
Many of these problems are associated with poor management of water resources, poor farming methods, demographic pressures leading to land scarcity, and lack of efficient energy sources; resulting in food insecurity arising from drought and floods, an outbreak of diseases such as malaria, water-borne diseases associated with floods and respiratory diseases associated with droughts, and heavy rainfalls which increase land degradation.
In Uganda, the continued environmental degradation has remained a big threat and causing severe problems for the local communities and the country. It is recognized that this challenge could only be overcome through community-led efforts to conserve biodiversity and its use for sustainable livelihoods.
The present level of Uganda’s forestland is just about 20% of its original value in 1890 as a result of deforestation. The major causes of deforestation are the provision of wood fuel and the clearing of land for agricultural activities. About 90% of the total population who live in rural areas directly depend on firewood for their energy needs, and a big fraction of the urban dwellers depend on charcoal. In general, about 92% of Uganda’s source of energy is wood fuel.
Part of the challenge in addressing climate change is that it can be a difficult concept to understand. Even once people understand the threats climate change poses, it is hard to get individuals, businesses, and communities to change their behavior and adopt new habits, such as using eco-friendly cookstoves that require less wood than traditional cooking methods.
Preserving Uganda’s rich forests and incredible biodiversity ecosystems is critical to the solution. So is getting people to buy into new, more sustainable practices. ASTCF continuously adapts and improves our conservation planning, resource management, and livelihood strategies to strengthen the resilience of Uganda’s people, its ecosystems, and its wildlife to climate change.
Here are some things ASTCF does to combat the effects of climate change:
Africa Sustainable Tourism Care Foundation brings agroforestry solutions to smallholder farmers and rural communities. We help supply and plant trees on small family farms to increase soil fertility, reduce land degradation, improve crop productivity, and provide additional sources of food and income. Agroforestry helps farmers to reduce dependence of forest resources and provides families with a home supply of fuel-wood, fodder, fertilizer, and food. This will reduce pressure on the natural forest and thus contribute to forest and wildlife conservation in the region while creating sustainable livelihoods for community members.
1. Agroforestry solutions – By planting a variety of tree seedlings on farms, including fast-growing and fruit-bearing trees, we are helping small farmers grow their resources and improving the health, diversity, and sustainability of their land. The role of agroforestry on these farms has been significant and has brought new growth to the land and to the families that live and work on these farms.
Among the aims of the project are:
- Reduction of flooding during the rainy season
- Reduction of soil degradation
- Proper management and disposal of waste, improved hygiene, and sanitary conditions in communities
- The conservation of bio-diversity thus creates an enabling environment for successful living.
2. Promote sustainable energy technology- To help conserve forests and biodiversity, ASTCF promotes sustainable technologies like the locally made energy-saving stove, a stove designed to burn charcoal more efficiently. Plus, the charcoal can be made from Coffee husks as a secondary fuel to cut fossil energy consumption by 30%, or from sawdust pallets, or by just tree trimmings or branches. These stoves are not only eco-friendly but also cost-effective.