In lieu of the recent environmental disasters that have been happening in Kasese, Bundibugyo, Bududa, Pakwach and Uganda at large, it’s important to reflect about climate change.
There are efforts being taken by government and various actors (Including but not limited to Rwenzururu Discussion Board (RDB), Kasese think Tank (KTT), Rwenzori Fraternity Association (Rwefra), Kasese Tourism Promoters Association, Kasese District Local Government etc) in addressing climate change but more needs to be done.
We also need to affirm the importance of education, training, public awareness, public participation, public access to information and cooperation at all levels on matters concerning climate change and environmental conservation.
The Paris Agreement on Climate Change of which Uganda is a signatory builds upon the Convention and for the first time brings all nations into a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects, with enhanced support to assist developing countries including Uganda to do so.
As such, it charts a new course in the global climate effort.
The Paris Agreement central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Additionally, the agreement aims to strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change.
Most scholars and environment specialists have repeatedly pointed out that a solution to environmental crisis will require an environmental awareness and its proper understanding which should be deeply rooted in the education system at all levels of school education.
An environmentally aware population makes better informed decisions and choices on complex environmental issues.
Ecologically sustainable development requires an informed society that can make balanced decisions based on its economic, social and environmental welfare for current and future generations.
Environmental problems should no longer be viewed as just a threat to quality of life but should be considered a fundamental threat to human welfare.
The issues of environmental conservation are effects from human activities (this could have led to reduction of the quantity of snow on Rwenzori Mountain) that have no civic conscious and only think the profit without concern about the impact towards the environment and their future of life.
The long term effect from environmental pollution, poor methods of farming, cutting down trees etc can be seen when the ecosystem is not able to endure the rudimental practices against the environment.
Realizing the extremely expanded environmental catastrophe in Uganda and the region at large, a preventive way should be carried out to slow it and thereby mitigating long term environmental damage.
Thus, one of the best ways of preservation is by creating environmental awareness among society especially young ones as they are future leaders, future custodians, planners, policy makers and educators of environment and its issues.
Environmental education should be seen as an attempt to reorient education so that environmental competence is restored as one of its basic aims along with personal and social competence.
Environmental education is important to make people aware of environmental problems, to make them more knowledgeable about them, to provide them with skills and motivation to resolve those problems and to prevent new ones from occurring.
As part of community education programs on Climate change, environmental education should be expected to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes of the members of the community towards proper handling of environmental challenges and issues.
As, I suggest that a study should be conducted to determine the awareness and sensitivity of the younger generation in environmental issues such as global warming, climate change and environmental conservation.
Results of the study would be of significance in as far as environmental conservation is concerned.
Environmental education should be aimed at producing citizens who are knowledgeable concerning their biophysical environment and its associated problems, aware of how to help solve these problems, and motivated to work towards their solution.
Environmental education, whether in the formal education setting i.e schools, colleges and universities or in the informal setting i.e organizations such as Kasese Think Tank (KTT), Kasese district local Government, Rwenzori Fraternity Association (Rwefra), Rwenzururu Discussion Board (RDB) media, etc., seek to produce individuals with positive attitudes and values about their environment.
Environmental awareness seminars could be considered a very good tool in awakening the communities in the current environmental situation in the Rwenzori region and indeed Uganda which everyone is faced with.
The hands-on knowledge obtained from several stakeholders strengthens the desire to be part of the crusade for protecting the environment. Therefore, all stakeholders in the region should emphasize a greater need for environmental awareness in the realm of mainstream education, in the hopes of providing young ones with the ambition and abilities to care for the environment while securing their future wellbeing and happiness but not only to plant trees. It’s very useless to plant trees without educating the populace on how to conserve them.
By Ronald Baluku Busimba
Concerned Citizen.
The Scientific community has warned that if greenhouse gas emissions keep increasing, the planet will reach a point of no return. Global warming would become catastrophic and irreversible.