Climate change is causing food scarcity in the Rwenzori region. Farmers there are no longer able to predict the seasons and so plan for the planting. They say that they are getting heavy rainfall with very strong winds, thunder, lightening and destructive hailstorms when expecting dry spells and that the effects have shortened the growing seasons for crops.
Human activities are to blame for the changes which have resulted in frequent floods and high temperatures. The change in the rainy seasons has troubled farmers who often lose their seeds because of continuous planting in expectation of favourable rainfall patterns.
A woman carrying firewood. Human activity like tree cutting for timber and charcoal is partly to blame for adverse effects on climate which is negatively affecting farming and people's income. Net photo
"Kasese as a district is prone to disasters ranging from droughts to floods because there is no good vegetation cover. And the runoff water just ends up in Lake Katwe leading to waterborne diseases like cholera and diarrhoea," Mr Michael Nkuba, the Programme Officer in charge of Climate Change at Oxfam said during the launch of the report in Kasese.
The report entitled "Turning up the heat" was commissioned by Oxfam to examine the impact of climate change on agriculture, pastoralism, health and water. According to the report, food insecurity is a major challenge to the country and climate shocks are making it worse.
Those who feel the effects of climate change the most are ordinary people, especially women, whose efforts to overcome poverty are frustrated, says the report.
Mr Nkuba observed that due to the high temperatures, there is more mountain snow melting and more water flowing down the streams.
"The ice caps are melting at a faster rate. This is very dangerous and means the country would not only lose on tourism but also suffer dry spells in the region leading to poor crop yields, affecting household incomes hence persistent poverty," Mr Nkuba said.
"We used to have more rainfall than we are having now, that is one big change and this area is hotter than it was 20 years ago. What used to be our planting season of March to June is no longer reliable which does not favour the crops we grow," Yofesi Baluku, a farmer in the region says.
Mr Baluku, a resident of Karughe says that because of the reduced rains, one has to go for fast-maturing varieties, and in the process, crops like pumpkin, cassava and beans have disappeared.
"We have stopped adopting seasonal planting because it is pointless. Now we just try all the time. We used to plant in March. Now we plant and plant again.
We waste a lot of seeds, time and energy," says Lazaro Mbejuna of Bulirehe Village. The impact of climate change on the lives of the people in the Rwenzori region is largely blamed on lack of follow up to ensure implementation of the environmental recommendations deliberated upon at various levels, Mr Wilson Asaaba, the chief administrative officer of Kasese District said.
He observed that: "There is lowering of water levels and streams disappearing coupled with change of seasons." Busongora South County MP, Christopher Kibanzanga argues that the local leadership is partly to blame due to their failure to implement the available laws.
"The green belt we used to have in the town council is no longer there, trees all over have been cut for timber and charcoal but no step was taken to plant new ones or enforce tree planting as a collective responsibility," Mr Kibanzanga said.
The legislator described human activity degrading the environment as an attempt to kill the present and future lives of the people in the affected areas. "We have the law to protect the environment, but those defiling it are not arrested.
This is destroying our own lives and our leadership should come up strongly in this matter," Mr Kibanzanga said. A Kasese District Oxfam Official, Robina Alituha Isingoma said climate change has increased poverty in the region due to lack of awareness on its (climate change) impact.
"Who is responsible and concerned about environmental degradation? Can we do any better to restore the environment to ensure adaptation of climate change?" Mr Isingoma wondered.
Mr Nkuba expressed concern that due to landslides in the mountainous areas; people have started descending to compete for the lower part of the mountains. "Due to scarcity of water in the pastoralist community, people will start migrating to compete for resources (water and land) hence friction between farmers and pastoralists," he says.
Mr Nkuba urged the resident of Kasese to start using energy saving stoves to reduce use of firewood and plant more trees to reduce the effects of climate change in the region.