Environmental Sustaibility
Environmental sustainability is crucial to achieving sustainable livelihoods in Uganda, including the long-term poverty eradication and improved food security, health, and quality of life of the current and future generations. Most poor people depend on ecological goods and services for their immediate survival (for food, water, medicine, shelter, income) and the economy relies on natural resources, including fisheries, agricultural commodities and raw materials, timber and nature-based tourism.
Environmental sustainability encompasses a wide range of measures (policies and practices) aimed at protecting the environment and maintaining its long-term integrity, functionality and carrying capacity (including the regenerative potential of its renewable resources and its capacity to assimilate pollutants and withstand change). These include: protecting or reversing the loss of environmental resources/ biodiversity; fostering sustainable natural resource management; ensuring sustainable use of biodiversity; improving access to safe drinking water and sanitation; minimising environmental pollution, and mitigating the effects of climate change and environmental disasters, promoting energy conservation and reliance on renewable energy sources; promoting environmental awareness, and fostering individual and corporate responsibility and accountability. SLINT-Uganda will initially focus on the following measures:
| Natural resources management. | Promoting biodiversity conservation and sustainable management and use of natural resources, focusing on: multipurpose tree planting, agroforestry systems, sustainable land management, integrated watershed management, restoration of degraded habitats, wetlands conservation, water resources management and the adoption sustainable resource use practices and extraction technologies. |
| Promotion of renewable energy and energy use efficiency. | Facilitating access to, and increased use of, renewable energy sources and technologies (including solar PV systems and biogas) as well as fostering energy use efficiency by promoting awareness and application of energy-saving practices and technologies such improved cook stoves and energy-efficient appliances and equipment. |
| Water resources management and sustainable supply. | Fostering integrated management of water resources (rivers, lakes, wetlands and critical watersheds); protecting small water systems and drinking water sources, and promotion of rainwater harvesting as an appropriate technology for sustainable water supply to rural communities. |
| Environmental sanitation and pollution control. | Promoting household environmental sanitation, including environmentally-sound waste disposal, household sanitation and personal hygiene practices, in order to minimise environmental pollution, maintain a safe clean living environment and foster improved human health. This is achieved through promoting sanitation and hygiene education, the construction and use of VIP latrines and sustainable domestic waste management systems |
| Environmental awareness and corporate responsibility. | Promoting public environmental awareness and education and fostering a culture of environmental stewardship, community action and corporate environmental responsibility through: seminars and workshops, dissemination of awareness materials, organization of environmental stewardship competitions/awards and fostering the development and implementation of voluntary corporate environmental management systems (EMS) and environmental/sustainability reports. |
