Water is not necessarily in short supply in Uganda; however, it is not always available in the right place at the right time, a situation which is exacerbated by climate change.
This reality was recognised by the climate change response strategy and action plan in Uganda. The Ugandan Department of Water Resource Management (DWRM) under the Ministry of Water and Environment in Uganda identified the need to develop this Strategy based on evidence-based risk and vulnerability (R&V) assessment of the water sector.
This necessitated considering other sectors that are significantly water-dependent, broadening the scope of the project.
The Government of Uganda contracted OneWorld in 2008 to develop a response strategy to climate change R&V, with the overall goal to develop a stakeholder-led climate change strategy and action plan for the Department of Water Resources Management.
The first phase saw a literature review and the conducting of a R&V assessment against which to develop a strategy for DWRM. OneWorld assessed the vulnerability of the different components of the water resources sector to on-going and projected climate changes. This was supported and validated through extensive stakeholder engagement to build appropriate response strategies.
OneWorld managed the process to develop and agree to the sectors climate response strategy with Government and other stakeholders as well as quantifying the related costs of priority adaptations. OneWorld additionally built capacity in stakeholders through designing and hosting five workshops (for 250 officials) with DWRM and related departments, such as Agriculture and Energy.
This work strengthened countrywide capacity to use available methodologies to understand the cascading implications of climate change in systems and sectors by applying “AIM” (Action Impacts Matrix) methodology and toolkits previously developed by OneWorld to build the capacity of government officials.
The outcomes of OneWorld’s work included 2 adaptation projects available to the Ugandan Government to take to the Global Environment Fund (GEF) and the Adaptation Fund, as well as a clearly defined, stakeholder-approved strategic response to climate change for the water and related sectors.
Stakeholders’ understanding of how to reduce vulnerability to climate changes and increase resilience in the affected population and other sectors was also further enhanced.
PUBLICATIONS
Vulnerability Assessment of Ugandan Water Resources to Climate Change
Final Summary Report: Climate Change Response Strategy and Action Plan
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