December 10, 2023 A Catalyst for Building Community Resilience to Climate Change in Uganda through a Catchment Integrated Water Resources Management side event.

A Catalyst for Building Community Resilience to Climate Change in Uganda through a Catchment Integrated Water Resources Management side event. December 10, 2023

The Uganda Pavilion at the 28^th session of the UNFCCC Conference of Parties (COP) this year in Dubai hosted a compelling side event, exploring the role of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) as a vehicle for enhancing the resilience and adaptive capacities of communities to climate change in Uganda. The Ministry has been at the forefront, developing the "Framework for catchment-based integrated water resources management" since 2010 which highlights the  involvement and active participation from local communities and stakeholders in planning, development, and management, with catchments serving as the units for water-related initiatives highlighted Mr. Alfred Okot Okidi, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE).

One noteworthy project, the “Enhancing Resilience of Communities to Climate Change through Catchment Based Integrated Management of Water and Related Resources in Uganda” (EURECCCA), implemented the catchment-based approach to increase community resilience. The project, funded by the Adaptation Fund (AF) through Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS), focused on areas prone to floods and landslides in Maziba, Aswa, and Awoja Catchments holistically to include ecosystem resilience enhancement, sustainable agricultural landscape management, livelihood system improvement, and capacity building for local stakeholders.

The side event was catalysed by feature presentations and round table discussions with a lense on the EURECCCA project, with representatives spanning from Mr. Nabil Ben Khatra, Executive Secretary, Sahara and Sahel Observatory, Mr. Mahamat Assouyouti, Senior Climate Change Specialist, Adaptation Fund, Mr. Fumihiko Tominaga, Climate Policy Specialist, Green Climate Fund, Mr. Jesper Wohlert, Director of Partnerships, Humana People to People, Hon. John Musila, Member of Parliament for Bubulo East  and Chair for Mpologoma Catchment, and Ms. Rose Kobusinge, Young Climate Change Activist in Uganda.

The side event dove deep into insights contributing to the ongoing discourse on building resilient communities in the face of climate change. Mr. Ben Khatra span the reality that the involvement of different stakeholders ensured a holistic perspective, paving the way for collaborative and sustainable solutions and emphasised on mobilizing additional resources to underline the collective commitment to furthering impactful climate resilience initiatives.