COMMENT | DANIEL ABOWE | It’s now 14 years since Uganda discovered commercially viable quantities of oil and gas along Lake Albert basin. Since then, Uganda’s oil and gas sector has transitioned from the exploration and appraisal phase to the development phase in preparation for production projected for 2023. Planned …
Read More »The time to save the Ongo communal forest is now
Ongo communal forest becomes another victim of the COVI-19 pandemic; a case of custodians becoming destroyers COMMENT | Daniel Abowe | The Ongo communal forest in western Uganda is shared by four villages of Ogadra, Kibali, Onieni, and Abangi in Kasenene parish, Budongo sub-county, Masindi district. In 2017, ECO-TRUST supported the Ongo …
Read More »In midst of pandemic, East Africa braces for another locust invasion
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | East Africa is bracing for a third outbreak of desert locusts, with billions of the destructive insects about to hatch and threaten food supplies in a region already reeling from damaging rains and the coronavirus pandemic. Spurred by favourable weather conditions, the migratory pests have …
Read More »Uganda pursues plan to dam Murchison Falls in national park
Murchison Falls, Uganda | AFP | The boat edged as close as possible to the deafening surge of water roaring over Murchison Falls, giving tourists a hair-raising shot of one of Africa’s awesome and terrifying natural spectacles. Tens of thousands visit northwest Uganda every year to marvel as the force of …
Read More »COVER STORY: Lake Victoria floods
What living in this historic moment means Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | On May 20 there was heated debate about what should be done about thousands of people displaced or drowned and businesses and livelihoods destroyed by flooding around Lake Victoria. Earlier, the Minister of State for Environment, Beatrice …
Read More »Environmental challenges remain as world battles COVID-19
After the Global financial crisis of 2008, carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion decreased by 1.4% only to rise by 5.9% in 2010 COMMENT | Hillary Turyatunga | In a matter of a few months, the way of life of many globally has changed in a way many would …
Read More »Tackle climate change with the zeal of the COVID-19 fight
Government responses to climate crisis must be permanently changed after the coronavirus has been dealt with COMMENT | Phoebe Atukunda | On 14th April 2020, Ugandans experienced a total black-out nationwide which the country’s electricity transmission company – UETCL – later revealed was caused by a “floating” island that …
Read More »The mighty River Nile, threatened by waste, warming, mega-dam
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Early one morning in Cairo, volunteers paddle their kayaks across the Nile, fishing out garbage from the mighty waterway that gave birth to Egyptian civilisation but now faces multiple threats. Egypt’s lifeline since Pharaonic days and the source of 97 percent of its water is …
Read More »Why coronavirus could help save China’s endangered species
Paris, France | AFP | The novel coronavirus outbreak in China may end up saving one of the world’s most trafficked animals after Beijing announced a total ban on the sale and consumption of the pangolin. The scaly mammal — listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature …
Read More »Destructive locust swarms arrive in Uganda
Kampala, Uganda | AFP | A locust infestation sweeping the Horn of Africa reached Uganda on Sunday, a government minister said as the prime minister convened an emergency meeting to address the pest invasion. “The locusts entered Uganda today” from Kenya, said Moses Kizige, the minister in charge of the …
Read More »