By KT Reporter
The East African Community, the Federal Republic of Germany and the European Union have launched a project designed to enhance sustainable natural resource management across the region.
The project, EAC4Nature, will run from January 2025 to June 2028 with a total funding of 8 million euros (5.5 million Euros from BMZ and 2. 5 million Euros from the EU). It will see the building of capacity for three existing Lake and river basin organisations namely, the Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC), the Lake Tanganyika Authority (LTA) and the ABAKIR (Authority for the Management of Lake Kivu Basin and Rusizi River Resources).
Eight member states of the EAC Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, Somalia, and South Sudan will benefit through further fostering of cross-border climate change solutions focusing on enhancing sustainable livelihoods.
Speaking at the launch of the project on Monday at Imperial Resort Beach Hotel – Entebbe, Eng Richard Gatete, executive director of the Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency (CASSOA – a flagship agency of the EAC) who represented the EAC Secretary General as a guest of honour said the project was a landmark collective commitment to the environmental and climate challenges facing the region.
He said erratic rainfalls, rising temperatures and prolonged droughts were hitting rural populations hard while ecosystems were under immense pressure from deforestation, land degradation and unsustainable resource exploitation.
“All these have caused far-reaching consequences affecting the availability of water and agriculture. We must embrace innovative solutions that work for nature and not against nature. Harnessing the power of ecosystems, we can enhance climate resilience, restore degraded landscapes and secure the livelihoods of our people.” he said.
The Head of Cooperation at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Kampala, Alicia Van de Boom said the importance of the project comes at a time when the EAC region has been experiencing unprecedented heat.
“Now we have the heat wave in Kampala that has been on for some weeks now. It is unprecedented, that coming at a time when previously we had just experienced flooding around the Lake Victoria Basin,’ Van de Boom said.
She made assurance of her country’s continued support and that of the EU to create a lasting change that ensures sustainable livelihoods.
The deputy executive secretary of the LVBC, Coletta U Ruhamya who represented called for resolute commitment to address climate change. She called for a unified voice of the region at international climate change forums.
She explained that the LVBC had, with support from the German Ministry for Cooperation and Development BMZ/GIZ worked hard to ensure the Lave Victoria Basin’s fragile ecosystems are protected and restored where degraded.
Simon Kiriae, the EAC Acting Principal Environment and Natural Resources Officer said that among other activities, the project would help the Lake Basin organisations involved produce the state of the Basin Reports and also develop water information systems. It, he said, will also enhance information sharing and collaborative decision-making.
Jean Batiste Havugimana, director of production services at the EAC secretariat said the project would also have a special focus on women and children, who he said are the most hard affected by climate change-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
