In this in-depth interview, Pauline Nantongo Kalunda talks to us about her own personal and professional growth. She has moved from being a scientist with a specialist interest in insects to entreprenurial activism and passionate advocacy for smallholding communities. She details the workings of the ECOTRUST model of incentivising environmentally sustainable practices, and offers many other fascinating insights along the way.
Pauline is the Executive Director of the Environmental Conservation Trust of Uganda: ECOTRUST. You can find out more about their work here:
https://ecotrust.or.ug/about-us/
This interview was recorded in August 2024.
Where to start with this amazing episode? Clarity, insight and perspective from Dr. John Bosco Isunju, of Makerere University, on the hazards we face as humans in the face of climate change, and the unique challenges that will shape the future of life in Uganda.
Dr. John Bosco Isunju brings a formidable depth of knowledge to these subjects, having worked across many areas of public health from environmental pollution, geospatial health, disaster risk reduction, and infection prevention to issues around occupational safety and health, and safe water and sanitation. And many other points in between.
Dr. Isunju recently led the Climate change vulnerability and adaptation assessment and development of Uganda's Health National Adaptation Plan. He is a member of the WHO Global Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health.
At Makerere University, he is a cluster lead of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA)’s
Nature-Based Solutions cluster for climate change adaptation. He is a member of the Editorial
Board for the Makerere University Press. He also serves on the Grants and Research Capacity
Building Committee and is the Secretary for the MakSPH Research and Ethics Committee. He is
a Focal Person for the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa, where he also
serves on the Board of Management.
As always, thanks to all of you for listening - if you'd like to drop us a line please do: climatetalkpod@gmail.com is where you'll find us.
This week we're turning our attention back to some of the broader questions around health and climate change. Crispus Mwemaho has a background in health services, and he's co-founder with Ivan Rwomukitomaof the Abayuuti Climate Action Network. He joined me in the studio last week to talk about the work the Abayuuti Climate Action Network does with people who have been displaced by flooding in Uganda.
But first, I asked Crispus Mwemaho what inspired him to focus on the ways climate change, climate mobility, and health intersect.
You can find out more about the Abayuuti Climate Action Network here:
https://www.abayuuti.org/
Kampala Climate Cafe on Instagram:
@kampalaclimatecafe
And you can find a fascinating article on mental health and climate displacement written by Crispus Mwemaho here:
Displaced and Distressed: Uncovering the Mental Impacts of Climate Displacement in Uganda
This is a timely and profound exploration of the strategies, passions and frustrations of environmental activism over a long period of time. Founded in 1983, Joint Energy Environment Projects exists to promote efficient use of natural resources and prevent the destruction of forests. Forty years after its founding, how does the CEO, Ruth Kiwanuka, reflect on her experiences; the progress that has been made; and the challenges that remain?
You can hear Ruth Kiwanuka speak about Joint Energy Environment Projects in this video from 2020:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0QUZwRK3ro
And you can find out more about the work of JEEP and its partners here:
https://jeepfolkecenter.org/about/
As always, thanks for listening, and drop us a line any time: climatetalkpod@gmail.com
How do you prepare for outbreaks of malaria if climate change means that mosquitoes which spread the disease are thriving in areas that were previously off limits? When it comes to public health, climate change makes a tricky situation even more difficult.
In this episode Dr Muganzi David Jolly and Dr Ian Clarke discuss how AI might play a role in helpiing Uganda meet this challenge. Dr Muganzi David Jolly is the Health Innovation Hub manager at Clarke International University here in Kampala. Dr Ian Clarke is an Irish-born doctor, entrpreneur, and coffee farmer. In this wide-ranging conversation we touch on many aspects of the healthcare landscape in Uganda, and the idea that climate change can be a driving force for innovation.
You can find out more about Clarke International University here:
https://ciu.ac.ug/?s5_responsive_switch_wwwihsuacug=0
And you can find a brief profile of Dr Muganzi David Jolly here:
https://wayforwardyouth.org/muganzi_david
And as always, if you'd like to get in touch, climatetalkpod@gmail.com is where you'll find us.
Janet Kantalama Kantana joins Josephine to talk about how we can understand mental health challenges in the age of climate change. We explore how our inner wellbeing is affected when day to day life is disrupted by intense or unpredictable weather events. And we talk about measures we can take - individually and collectively - to make sure we are mentally resilient in those circumstances.
Janet Kantalama Kantana is a psychologist and Executive Director of Safe Places Uganda. It's a private facility helping people deal with mental health issues and addiction. You can find out more about Safe Places here:
Surges in malaria and other diseases; damage to clinics and other physical infrastructure; decreased access to immunisation and mental health services; illnesses due to increased heat and humidity; declining maternal and child health outcomes. These are just some of the health related impacts of climate change. In the first in a series of episodes focusing on health, Dr Didacus B. Namanya explains how the government of Uganda monitors these public health impacts, and is working on adaptation strategies for the future.
Dr Didacus B. Namanya (MSc., PhD. Public Health) is a geographer and is Focal Point (Climate Change and Health, and GIS) for the
Ministry of Health in the Government of Uganda.
You can find the Health National Adaptation Plan - which Dr Didacus Namanya talks about - here:
https://library.health.go.ug/environmental-health/climate-change/health-national-adaptation-plan-h-nap
Over the past few weeks we've been exploring fluctations in the price of food and other commodities like coffee and cocoa. In this episode we zooming out to remind ourselves of the broader perspective on the causes of climate change, the need for adaptations, and for integrated policy approaches from government. Anthony Kagoro is a Climate Change Specialist at the Food and Agriculture Organization in Uganda. This interview was recorded in August 2024.
Tracing the connections between the price of the food you put on your table, global commodity markets, local conditions and climate change is incredibly complex. Today we have probably Uganda's most important expert in the field joing us. Professor Bernard Bashaasha is Professor of Agricultural and Development Economics at Makerere University College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. He has many years of experience analysing agriculture in Uganda and what makes it tick. And he shares his understandings with us in this episode.
Matoke! Irish potatoes! Mangoes! What more could you want?
The on-the-ground impacts of price fluctuations on these foods are felt day to day and season to season by traders in the markets around Kampala. William Ssekiranda speaks to three traders at Kalerwe Market about where they source their produce and how price variations affect them.
The price of coffee and many staple foods in Uganda have been rising steeply: good news for sellers (farmers), not so good news for consumers. And these price rises have been attributed to extreme weather due to climate change. In the first of two episodes, Josephine explores this link, and what it means for growing and selling coffee in Uganda and beyond. In our next episode we'll be looking at the price of food staples and attempting to understand the links between local conditions and global markets. It's complicated but utterly fascinating. So don't miss it.
This epsiode was recorded live at One Tribe Coffee Shop at 1 Bugologi Road, Kampala. They're open Monday - Saturday from 7:30am-6pm. Thanks so much to Gail Mawocha and the team there for making us so welcome. And thanks, also, Robert Byaruhanga.
You can see what's happening at One Tribe Coffee on their Insta page and website.
https://www.instagram.com/onetribe_coffee/
www.onetribecoffee.com
And you can find out more about the Uganda Coffee Development Authority here:
https://ugandacoffee.go.ug/
Producer: Martin Fowler
Sound Recordist: William Ssekiranda
Nicholas Najuna and Namutebi Muniirah are each developing new technologies to deal with aspects of climate change that particularly affect small holder farmers. Nicholas is founder and CEO of Afrotym, developing what they refer to as a 'waterbank' - a natural, biodegradable way of storing moisture within the soil. Namutebi Muniirah is co-founder of Umuntu Agrobiotics where her team has been developing Bio-Blend, a low cost microbial solution designed to increase soil productivity.
Both guests are beneficiaries of The Uganda Climate Innovation Fund - helping them develop their products and bring them to market. You can find out more about the Climate Innovation Fund here:
https://csj.co.ug/page/about-ucif
...and details of what the fund covers here:
Controlling the ripening of fruits and vegetables could be a major step forward in securing incomes for farmer and traders, as well as mitigating the impacts of climate change on the entire production chain. In this episode two traders from Kasubi Market in Kampala talk to WIlliam Ssekiranda about the challenges posed by the perish-ability of the produce they sell.
Then we hear from two Ugandan innovators who are developing ways of extending the shelf-life of fresh produce. Annet Diana Nanono and Gift Arnold Mugisha are developing their solutions with support from the Uganda Climate Innovation Fund.
You can find out more about their innovations here:
You can find out more about the Uganda Climate Innovation Fund here:
https://csj.co.ug/page/about-ucif
...and details of what the fund covers here:
Only the USA and China produce more greenhouse gases than food wastage. According to FAO estimates, the food that is lost and wasted could feed 1.26 billion hungry people every year. Brett Rierson has spent many years in the agricultural sector in Africa, and he's got some great perspectives on the causes of food wastage, how exactly it makes climate change worse, and what can be done to stop it. And you know, it turns out there are some very simple solutions that can make a very big impact.
This is the first of two linked episodes - the second will feature two Ugandan entrepreneurs who are developing accessible, innovative ways of combatting post harvest food wastage by prolonging the shelf life of fruit and vegetables.
If you'd like to read more about food waste from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation in 2022, you can find it here:
https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/fao-unep-agriculture-environment-food-loss-waste-day-2022/en
And info about some of the solutions Brett was speaking about can be found here:
From the World Food Programme, "Empowering smallholder farmers to reduce post-harvest loss":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7mNzlqtFm8&t
Properly Storing Dried Grains and Legumes Using Hermetically Sealed Bags:
https://youtu.be/1KIO-P1ZsL8?si=67o67q9_Pet4WLOu
Information about YieldWise, a Rockerfeller Foundation (USA) funded initiative to eliminate wastage:
https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/initiative/yieldwise/
Felix Muchiri of Green Hub East Africa discusses the benefits of boda-bodas that are not powered by petrol engines in a city where climate change impacts can be intense. 'We envision a time when the skies in Kampala can just be blue,' he says. Felix is a mechatronics and electronics engineer, and a passionate advocate for electric boda-bodas as one way of creating a sustainable, climate friendly transportation system in Uganda and East Africa.
Felix also describes Green Hub East Africa's partnership with an innovative programme designed to give women access to careers as riders of electric boda-bodas, and the economic empowerment it provides. It's called the Women on Wheels project, and you can find out more about it here:
https://womenrisingforafrica.org/women-on-wheels-empowering-women-in-uganda/
It's a fascinating conversation offering insights into how climate solutions can be engines for innovation, economic and social empowerment.
Felix Muchiri is a Project Manager at Green Hub East Africa
https://greenhubev.com/
Their partners include Glovo, and Safe Boda. You can find out more about Safe Boda here:
https://www.safeboda.com/
Going to work, school or shopping, cycling can be the easiest way to get around a congested city. As long as you can do it without fear of dying. Activist, community educator and avid cyclist Owiny Hakim explains what it's like to cycle in Kampala and why an integrated, comprehensive approach to making cycling easier and safer could pay huge dividends in the future. As the city grapples with the consquences of climate change, it turns out two wheels might be better than four.
And Climate Talk's William Ssekiranda shares his experience of a narrow escape after a bicyle accident a few years ago.
You can find out more about Hakim's work here:
https://kiu.ac.ug/news-page.php?i=kius-hakim-owiny-wants-to-turn-kampala-into-a-smart-city
and here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/owiny-hakim-966064243/?originalSubdomain=ug
Dealing with waste water - it's not glamourous but there are opportunities. From storing water for use in irrigation to treating it for re-use. Featuring Julius Musiimenta, who's been a sanitation and hydraulics consultant for many years. A graduate of Makerere University and IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, he is currently working on a range of solutions dealing with water management in a climate change context.
'The bridge that was designed for 1960 can not be the same bridge for today.' Sanitary engineer and water management specialist Julius Musiimenta talks to Josephine about all aspects of what happens to water when it arrives in large amounts at unpredictable times, how it impacts infrastructure and how it can be best dealt with in an uncertain future.
Julius Musiimenta has been a sanitation and hydraulics consultant for many years. A graduate of Makerere University and IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, he is currently working on a range of solutions dealing with water management in a climate change context.
Following on from our main episode this week, Dr Max Kigobe of Makerere University talks about researching historical rainfall patterns, modeling future rainfall events, and why he first got interested in understanding Uganda's climate.
Drains, culverts, pipes and ditches: facilities you probably never think about. But vital to ensuring that Uganda is able to cope with the increased number and intensity of rainfall events brought on by climate change.
What it comes down to is this: there's an urgent, ongoing need for integrated planning at all levels if Uganda is to successfully adapt to the challenges of climate change. So says our guest, Dr Max Kigobe of Makerere University. He's en engineer by training and has worked on major infrastructure projects, so he brings an engineer's insights alongside experience in analysing historical patterns of rainfall in the country. Dr Kigobe has extensive experience in water resource and climate change modelling, and is currently a Senior Lecturer in Water Resources, Hydrology and Climate Change at Makerere University.
This is the first of two linked episodes in which we're asking engineers for their insights into infrastructure design and climate change.
You can find some of Dr Max Kigobe's research papers here:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Max-Kigobe
And you can get in touch with us here: climatetalkpod@gmail.com
