Every year on March 21, the world celebrates World Forest Day meant to remind us about the value of forests to Mother Nature. Forests are being continuously depleted the world over. Currently, climate change and the global energy crisis are threatening the lives and livelihoods of billions of people that require immediate attention.
In Uganda, more than 80 per cent of the population depends primarily on biomass to meet their household energy needs, which has not only succeeded in destroying the forest cover, but also subjects communities to a number of hazardous air pollutants, which are health risks.
The exploitation of forests is speeding the rate of global warming and climate change. The Status of the Global Climate report by the World Metrological Organisation released in February detailed the string of climate and weather records that were broken in 2015, including global temperature records, exceptional rainfall, devastating droughts, unusual cyclone activity and intense heat waves.
The report pointed out that the planet was sending a powerful message to world leaders to sign and implement the Paris Agreement on climate change and cut greenhouse gases now before we pass the point of no return. The year 2015 stood out in the historical record of global climate where global surface temperatures shattered all previous records by a wide margin.
The World Metrological Organisation said the preliminary data showed the global average surface temperature has reached “the symbolic and significant milestone” of 1.0 degree Celsius (1.8 degree Fahrenheit) above mid-19th century levels.
One of the practical ways to combat climate change is to plant more trees in order to take more carbon out of the atmosphere as long as the trees are planted in the right place. If trees new trees are planted or allowed to regenerate, then this can keep the forest as a net sink of carbon. Therefore, careful forest cover management means they are able to take up the maximum amount of carbon possible.
It should be noted that climate change is real and citizens are already feeling its impacts. It is, therefore, the responsibility of every citizen to ensure Uganda becomes climate resilient, especially when we are set to commence with oil production, which can also accelerate the release of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.
Samuel Okulony,
Environmentalist
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