By Ambrose Gahene,
KAMPALA
The Minister for General Duties in the Office of the Prime Minister, Justine Kasule Lumumba has called on stakeholders in Environment conservation and Government to compel idle land owners to plant trees as a way of combating effects of Climate Change.
Minister Kasule made the remarks as guest of honor during day two of the ongoing Uganda Evaluation Conference at Uganda Management Institute (UMI) on Tuesday.
“Every idle land you see in Uganda has an owner, yet the country is facing challenges of climate change and negative effects such as; floods and landslides, which is why stakeholders in this conference should discuss ways in which idle land owners should be made to plant trees,” she said.
Hon. Kasule said the Government is going to put much focus on resilience towards climate change through promotion of innovative practices.
She advised conference participants to debate and recommend for all Public Administrators to have a Certificate in Research, Monitoring and Evaluation on top of their other Professional qualifications.
Dr. James Nkata, UMI Director General, said the Institute is currently offering Masters Degree Courses in Monitoring and Evaluation and that their target is to offer PhD Courses in future in the same fields.
“Research in Garbage Management is very crucial to avoid future tragedies like what recently happened at Kitezi Landfill, where many people lost their lives”, he said.
Mr. Eugene Miheso Swinnerstone, the Uganda Evaluation Association (UEA) Academia Representative, called for more research in garbage recycling to produce more valuable products such as; fertilizer and cooking gas.
“Research by various Academic Institutions in Innovation will help in Monitoring and Evaluation to find lasting solutions to climate change challenges”, he said.
During Day two of the Conference, participants took part in tree planting around UMI compound. They included; UMI, National Forestry Authority (NFA), UEA and Office of the Prime Minister among others.
