Climate change

Journalists in Uganda are not easily convinced that climate change presents an immediate threat to their country. The 33 journalists arriving for the climate change course run by Thomson Foundation trainer MARY PRICE were no exception.

But despite their initial reservations, the journalists became so passionate about the need for change, they decided to form the Environmental Journalists’ Association. Here Mary describes their dramatic change of heart.

All eyes were on the condom. It lay on a mountain of compost at the Mbale Municipal Council Compost processing plant.

Waste into compost is a fairly simple process which takes time, heat and a deal of rough treatment … hence the awe. How had this thing survived intact?

The journalists were baffled.

This is a Clean Development Project (CDM) in embryo. Funded by the World Bank it aims to turn the organic waste generated by the citizens of Mbale town into cheap compost and by so doing contribute to cleaning up the world’s atmosphere. Put briefly, well-managed waste means no gas emissions and that means cleaner atmosphere. Should the scheme be ratified in Bonn it will generate Certified Emission Reduction (CER) status and so money will change hands.

Try explaining all that to 33 journalists more interested in the mystery of the condom.

We were on the first of our field trips for the latest climate change course organised by the British Council (Uganda) and the Thomson Foundation, and funded by the Department for International Development (DFID – or UK Aid as it now likes to be called).

Mbale environmental officer Rhodah Nyarib speaks to the journalists about the achievement of the town's compost plant

The 33 were all experienced reporters and editors, carrying with them the cynicism and suspicion of the trade. My job for the Thomson Foundation was to deliver an understanding of climate change and the need for them to spread the word to a nation which is already feeling the stress of  the shifting weather patters.

What soon became clear is their lack of faith in the willingness of official agencies to be proactive. This may not be entirely fair on those who strive for change, but it is the perception of most of the group. NATO is the mantra. No Action Talk Only.

No pressure then.

We left the compost plant and headed for a school to plant trees. Tree planting has caught on in Uganda. Over our week together we accounted for at least eight million trees being planted in the region we were working.

Everyone cheered up until we discovered that most of the planting is agro-forestry for firewood and building. Plant close, harvest quickly and then the whole lot goes up in smoke (CO2) again as fuel. You can’t blame anyone – wood is all people can afford to cook on and there is already a shortage that gets worse by the season.

Unlike Rwanda, where re-forestation works with native hardwoods, Uganda is hoping that fast-growing imports like pine and eucalyptus will do the trick.

Stuck on the road to Bududa. The bus carrying the journalists finally arrived at its destination high in the Mt Elgon National Park

We dug on and planted mango, avocado and orange. At least the kids would have fresh fruit. The children sang their delighted thanks while displaying a greater knowledge of climate change than any of  the group.

The discussion about trees carried on as we rocked home on the washed-out road.

Our course was timed to coincide with the launch of a new United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) initiative called Territorial Approach to Climate Change (TACC). Put briefly, with funds from DFID and the National Assembly for Wales (amongst others), it is an attempt to find solutions to offset the effects of climate change on a regional level.

It makes sense. At regional level, people know each other, know the local challenges and stand a chance of finding answers.

The launch took place in the poshest hotel in Mbale. No carbon from us we walked there arriving hot but smug. The 33 journalists set to work. The Welsh Minister, John Griffiths, and DFID’s Kate Wedgwood went down a storm. Lots of media material there.

The next day we headed for the hills to see how important it is to work with local knowledge. Easier said than done. Our bus got stuck. It took 40 minutes, endless advice and shouting from onlookers and the determination of at least ten men to shift it from knee-deep mud. We set off again for the Bududa district, where so far this year at least 350 people have perished in landslides.

After an hour’s struggle up a steep hill through the bananas and eucalyptus the group were questioning the point of our mission. But, as usual with these courses, it was the evidence of the locals that did the trick.

Matia village farmer Mulla Moses speaks of his losing battle to stablise his farmland. A landslide near here killed 350 people just months ago

Farmer Mulla Moses, of Matia village, does his best to stabilise the soil, as do 70 others like him in the neighbourhood. But pressure of people on the land make it almost impossible. The national density of people per square kilometre in Uganda is one hundred and twenty nine. Here it is between six hundred and a thousand. Seventy percent of all natural disasters in Uganda are climate change related.

The message and the need were getting home.

Local environmental officer Charles Wakube laid out the core of the dilemma. The Mt Elgon region is one of the most important in Uganda. It is a watershed and supposed to be forested. It is rich in wetlands and in the not-so-recent past was rich in biodiversity. But survival and economic development are strong competitors.

If the gang of 33 felt something at the beginning of the week, it was resignation. But gradually the mood changed. And in the end something snapped. What they saw and heard shocked them beyond their limits of tolerance. After much discussion and debate, they gathered together and decided there CAN be action beyond talk.

The 33 journalists decided to form the Environmental Journalists Association and left the course pledging to work together to get the message of climate change out in a way the people can understand.

We’ll follow their progress with interest.

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