Water and food security are inseparable – experts agree

Entebbe, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Founder of Youth Go Green and Uganda’s youth delegate to United Nations has urged government and development partners to put the youth at the forefront of interventions to ensure water and food security.

He was participating in a high-level panel discussion about the water-food-energy-ecosystem nexus, one of the key themes of the 2019 Uganda Water and Environment Week (UWEWK). The second edition of the Uganda Water and Environment Week started on Monday in Entebbe, with the theme: Water and Environment a strategic driver in attainment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030.

Edwin Muhumuza expressed concern that while the youth form a big percentage of Uganda’s population, they have been left out of key processes. Youth have been equally accused of engaging in activities that destroy natural environmental resources, disregarding the fact that the future belongs to them. Muhumuza however defended the youth saying that they have been put in a desperate situation.

“Young people are faced with many challenges which push them to engage in activities that destroy the environment like cutting trees to burn charcoal, encroaching on wetlands to set up washing bays. They have limited opportunities, so they resort to such dangerous practices,” he argued.

Muhumuza assured participants that despite the challenges, the youth were making efforts to participate in activities to contribute towards conservation of natural resources. “We are involved in tree-planting, targeting to plant ten million trees in five years. So far, we have planted three million trees,” he said. He said they were also establishing environment clubs in schools and training youth in how to use solar powered projects. He requested for more support towards youth initiatives, with a call to the media to give them space to engage with the public. He also appealed to government to create alternative economic activities for the youth to dissuade them from degrading natural resources.

Apart from the involvement of youth, panelists discussed other issues of concern to the water-food-energy-ecosystem nexus. Panelists shared the conviction that the four aspects in the theme are inextricably interlinked, and all actors must acknowledge that in order to find solutions to the challenges that the nexus presents.

Presidential Advisor on Water Issues, Patrick Kahangire said that the government had long learnt that water, food, energy and the ecosystem cannot be separated. Government has always seen the nexus and therefore emphasized coordination among the concerned sectors and stakeholders. He gave the example of all the power projects that have been implemented before. “No single power project can be implemented without getting input from all sectors. Government seeks input and perspectives from environmentalists, social scientists, civil society,” Kahangire said.

From the Food Rights Alliance, Executive Director Agnes Kirabo also emphasized that people thrive on food and it must therefore be available. She said the discussion should not be so much about food as it is about the number of people that need food and the amount of water required to provide the food. She gave an example of rice and beef production whereby a lot of water is required to produce just a kilo of either of them. With an ever-growing population in Uganda, amidst other activities that compete for water resources, the challenge of food security is ever-present. Kirabo said that it is therefore important to know the amount of water available and how that can be shared among competing needs.

Moses Otim, representing the CEO of UEGCL also noted that power and energy production heavily relies on water resources, which means that electricity producing companies should be more interested in management of environmental resources. “86% of our power is hydro. We are sure of power only if we have adequate water reserves in the lakes and rivers. Therefore, catchment management is very important for us,” he said, reminiscing the years when, a few years ago, UEGCL resorted to load-shedding because the reserves were too low to produce adequate power.

David Obong, Permanent Secretary for Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, encouraged all actors to exercise their creativity to develop technologies that will ensure sustainable use and management of water resources. He said that his ministry was open to ideas and would support any Ugandan who came up with such research and innovation.

The goal of UWEWK 2019 to improve understanding of the centrality of water and environment resources in attainment of SDGs by 2030.

Starting on Monday 18th March, the event has attracted close to1000 participants, representing a wide range of water and environment stakeholders, including policy makers, technical specialists, academicians, public and private sector institutions, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and other members of the public.

A wide range of activities have been planned for the week including high level panel discussions, keynote addresses, paper presentations, side events, practical training, exhibitions, excursions and community activities.

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SOURCE: UWEWK newsletter