United Nations
Development Programme

Plot 24 Prince Charles Drive, Kololo

P.O Box 7184

Kampala, Uganda

Tel: (256) 414-233440/1/2/5

Fax: (256) 414-344801

Email: registry.ug@undp.org

Uganda has been selected to be one of 10 initial countries around the world to pilot the creation of Lower Carbon and Climate Change Resilient Territories. The project will be implemented in the three districts of Mbale, Bududa and Manafa on the slopes of Mt. Elgon in eastern Uganda. The other countries include:- Uruguay, Albania, Senegal, Macedonia, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Indonesia and one other country yet to be identified.

In October 2008 in St. Malo, France, UNDP, UNEP and several key Associations of Regions including Network for Regional Governments for Sustainable Development (nrg4SD), Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe (CPMR), Forum of Global Associations of Regions (FOGAR) and The Climate Group among others, formed a partnership to support regional governmental action against climate change, giving birth to a five-year initiative called “Towards Lower Carbon and Climate Change Resilient Territories”, also called the Territorial Approach Initiative to Climate Change.

A mission fielded to the districts earlier in the year, resulted in:-

• Preliminary assessment of the climate change situation in Uganda, particularly the three districts, including current and future policies, strategies and action plans;
• Preliminary assessment of probable environmental projects (forestry, water and energy efficiency) to be piloted in the region using various sources of innovative financing such as voluntary carbon, Clean Development Mechanism, water levy, etc.;
• Knowledge of technical and policy capacity needs based on stakeholder consultation from all levels: national, regional, local communities, NGOs and the academia; and
• Knowledge of climate change-related activities and priorities of various organizations and donor agencies;

Currently the UNDP corporate and country teams have developed a draft project document in liaison with the three districts together with the Wales Team and DFID among others. The 3 year project will focus on four outputs namely partnership, coordination, networking; capacity to integrate climate change issues; developing a climate change adaptation and mitigation plan and a package of how to implement the plan.

The total project budget is US$1 million and currently DFID-Uganda is in the process of securing funds from their budget, which will be followed by finalizing the cost sharing agreement between UNDP and DfID to support the project.

Global warming has become an undeniable reality and yet human activities are responsible for most of the phenomenon. While developing countries have contributed little to greenhouse gas emissions, they are the most vulnerable to its impacts.

It is now widely projected that failure to invest in activities addressing climate change could cost the global economy up to 20% of global gross domestic product (GDP) – equivalent to the economic cost of all the great wars and depressions of the 20th century. A dramatic scale up of existing efforts is necessary in order to transfer the technological and financial resources capable of successfully addressing the climate challenge, particularly in the least developed countries.

To successfully address the climate change challenge, countries will also have to ensure the involvement and commitment of all levels of decision-makers. National, regional and local governments have all got an essential role to play in climate change management within regional and Local Governments implementing and complementing national public policy initiatives at their respective levels. Regional and local governments play an even more important role in adaptation to climate change among other interventions, as local planning decisions are critical to tailor almost every single adaptation action to the specific conditions in which it will take place.

In Uganda, other related UNDP Country Office climate change interventions include, support for a GEF funded project entitled “Climate change enabling activities,” set up an Elnino Task Force and awareness rising on El nino through publishing a pamphlet “impacts of the 2006/07 El Nino in selected districts of Uganda” implemented through Meteorology and Disaster Preparedness and Refugees Departments in Ministry of Water and Environment and Office of the Prime Minster respectively in the past.

Currently the UNDP Uganda is increasing its climate change related interventions including: -

• Preparing a Human Development Report focused on climate change,
• Actively participating in the UN Joint programme on Climate change and,
• Proposing to support some capacity building issues in the government’s climate change unit by recruitment of a Communications Expert for awareness creation; printing of information, education and communication materials among others.
• Undertaking recruitment of a Senior Climate Change Advisor

Further information on UNDP Uganda work on climate change: daniel.omodo@undp.org, Daniel Omodo McMondo is Programme Officer-Environment for UNDP Uganda