Browsing by Author "Twinomuhangi, Revocatus"

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    Contextualising environmental and climate change migration in Uganda
    (Routledge, 2023-01-18) Twinomuhangi, Revocatus; Sseviiri, Hakimu; Kato, Arthur Martin
    ABSTRACT The complex linkage between environment, climate change and migration is increasingly capturing global debate. Uganda faces widespread environmental degradation and high vulnerability to climate change impacts that cause livelihood hardships, inducing human mobility. However, the environment, climate change and migration nexus is not well understood and documented, although advocacy to address the livelihood challenges associated with environmental and climate-induced migrations is on the rise. This paper addresses this knowledge gap and presents findings from a review of literature, complemented by key informant interviews and group discussions conducted in the Karamoja, Mt. Elgon and Teso sub-regions of Uganda. The findings show that some socio-economic hardships that cause migrations like natural resources scarcities (water, pastures and fertile soils), hunger and food insecurity and conflicts are linked to slow-onset processes/events related to environmental degradation, rising temperatures and desertification, compounded by sudden-onset events/disasters including; drought, rainstorms, flooding and landslides, that threaten livelihood security and trigger voluntary and forced migrations. Migration also occurs as a coping strategy to environment and climate shocks and stresses. However, empirical research evidence on the numbers of people who have migrated because of environmental change or climate change is still lacking as more research focus has been on the socio-economic and political drivers of migration. Deeper empirical research that incorporates spatial analyses on how the environmental and climate parameters induce migrations is necessary to provide an evidence base to inform transformative policy processes and actions that address human mobility challenges and build resilient societies in Uganda.
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    Elephant damage and tree response in restored parts of Kibale National Park, Uganda
    (International Journal of Biodiversity and Conservation, 2013) Tweheyo, Mnason; Mwesigye Tumusiime, David; Muhairwe, Timothy; Twinomuhangi, Revocatus
    Elephant tree damage is a key factor in conservation and restoration efforts of African rain forests. This study was conducted between June 2009 and February 2010 to examine elephant damage and tree response in restored parts of Kibale National Park, a rain forest in Uganda. First gazetted as Forest Reserve in 1932, the area had its southern block settled and degraded through human utilization between 1970 and 1987. In 1992, the government of Uganda relocated the settled people and embarked on a restoration process. Whereas, trees such as Ficus species exhibited high coping abilities to elephant damage through re-sprouting, coppicing and bark recovery; Prunus Africana struggled because it is highly preferred by elephant for feeding and is also demanded by humans. Whereas, options that can minimize elephant damage through selective planting of less desired species may be successful, these will deflect the problem of elephant damage to local farmers through experiences of increased crop raiding as the animals search for preferred forage. A more accommodative approach that includes desirable species which can cope with damage; and the protection of endangered species that happen to be desired by both humans and elephant may be more rewarding.
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    Rainwater harvesting knowledge and practice for agricultural production in a changing climate : A review from Uganda’s perspective
    (Agricultural Engineering International, 2018) Kiggundu, Nicholas; Wanyama, Joshua; Mfitumukiza, David; Twinomuhangi, Revocatus; Barasa, Bernard; Katimbo, Abia; Kyazze, Florence B.
    With a changing climate in Uganda, rainfall distribution patterns have become more irregular over time and space. Excess water during rainy season is causing runoff, soil erosion, nutrient depletion and crop damage which reduces the productive capacity of land, while on the other hand, prolonged droughts during the crop growing period have become common occurrences. Additionally, pastoralists lose livestock during the dry period each year in the Cattle Corridor of Uganda due to water shortage and lack of forage. It thus remains difficult to achieve the agricultural development targets identified in the National Development Plan for Uganda, without addressing regular incidences of adverse impacts of climate change. Currently there are no well explained approaches which can contribute to adoption of technologies like rainwater management systems which are crucial in enhancing crop yields and livestock production during periods of water shortage. The overarching objective of this paper was to carry out an assessment of the status, performance, and scope for improving rainwater harvesting (RWH) for small-scale agriculture under local conditions. Accordingly, research gaps in RWH technologies were identified and documented to inform future studies. The research was carried out in the semi-arid areas of Nakasongola, Rakai, and Hoima Districts characterized by crop-livestock dependent livelihoods. Findings show that RWH technologies could enable smallholder farmers and agro-pastoralists to become more resilient to increasing climate variability and climate change by conserving soil and water thus increasing food production and enhancing food security. Small-scale irrigation systems have enabled farmers to adapt to drought challenges by enhancing crop yields and allowed farmers to target for higher market prices usually associated with the effects of drought. However, there are challenges including threats to sustainability of such established systems because of lack of community participation in systems’ monitoring and maintenances, and vandalism, and some systems require high investment costs.
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    Towards Sustainable Community-Based Systems for Infectious Disease and Disaster Response; Lessons from Local Initiatives in Four African Countries
    (Sustainability, 2021) Maat, Harro; Balabanova, Dina; Mokuwa, Esther; Richards, Paul; Mohan, Vik; Ssengooba, Freddie; Twinomuhangi, Revocatus; Woldie, Mirkuzie; Mayhew, Susannah
    This paper explores the role of decentralised community-based care systems in achieving sustainable healthcare in resource-poor areas. Based on case studies from Sierra Leone, Madagascar, Uganda and Ethiopia, the paper argues that a community-based system of healthcare is more effective in the prevention, early diagnosis, and primary care in response to the zoonotic and infectious diseases associated with extreme weather events as well as their direct health impacts. Community-based systems of care have a more holistic view of the determinants of health and can integrate responses to health challenges, social wellbeing, ecological and economic viability. The case studies profiled in this paper reveal the importance of expanding notions of health to encompass the whole environment (physical and social, across time and space) in which people live, including the explicit recognition of ecological interests and their interconnections with health. While much work still needs to be done in defining and measuring successful community responses to health and other crises, we identify two potentially core criteria: the inclusion and integration of local knowledge in response planning and actions, and the involvement of researchers and practitioners, e.g., community-embedded health workers and NGO staff, as trusted key interlocuters in brokering knowledge and devising sustainable community systems of care.
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    Uptake of Knowledge and Technologies for Adaptation to Climate Change in Crop Production Systems in Uganda: A Review
    (Advances in Research, 2017) Tenywa, John Stephen; Nabasirye, Margaret; Twinomuhangi, Revocatus; Mfitumukiza, David.
    Knowledge and technology uptake in the context of climate change adaptation is critical in ensuring that communities vulnerable to climate risks, respond effectively with appropriate actions, and particularly to its extreme events that are increasingly bedeviling agricultural natural resources and livelihoods, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Uptake as a subject is either loosely treated or lightly understood by actors in the African climate change research and development continuum. The objective of this article was to appraise the status of uptake of innovations (knowledge and technologies) of climate change adaptations in crop-based systems in Uganda, and propose viable interventions for enhancing the uptake process to obviate the escalating effects of climate change and its associated variability. The study was conducted during December 2016. It was dominantly a desk review, primarily based on existing online information sources and other national institutional repositories. The other information source was from a two-days stakeholder workshop involving key actors within the climate change research and development value chain in Uganda. They validated the synthesised information and supplemented with more recent events and hitherto undocumented scenarios. The study revealed that uptake of climate change adaptation actions was measurably low in the country; hence, communities were far from ready to face the recurrently changing and increasingly aggressive climate change events. Among the major contributors to slow uptake were lack of a coherent climate change activity coordination entity in the country, to organise actors into a functional service delivery system with minimum duplication; ensuring quality actions and following a unidirectional long term goal. The other hindrances included scattered knowledge and technologies, sub-optimal communication and extension services, technology products misconception, low adaptation capacity, unfavourable policies and policy environments, ineffectiveness traditional public and civil society extension agencies. Interventions are proposed to obviate these bottlenecks, using largely internal mechanisms.