Anibal’s story It is 8am, Anibal Muhate is waiting for a truck to arrive. His yard is full of neat piles of solid waste, separated by material type. It’s not a bin truck sent round by the municipality like those of us in the UK are used to. It’s a truck sent by a factory […]
Posted inWater, Climate Change, Research
Uganda’s First ever Red List for Fishes Shades Light on Conservation
Andrew Aijuka Ngege fish species (oreochromis esculentus) is a typical delicacy among fish-loving Ugandans. It is indigenous to Lake Victoria and its affluent rivers, lake Nabugabo, lake Kyoga basin, and the Victoria Nile. However, Ngege is a critically endangered fish species with a high risk of facing extinction. This assessment is entailed in Uganda’s first […]
Posted inWater, Climate Change, Research
Southern African nations to build new dams to support farming amid water scarcity
Shoks Mnisi Mzolo in South Africa Building on the record of a successful treaty that resulted in the construction of dams eSwatini and South Africa, the pair are set to build more dams in the Komati Basin for irrigation to support agriculture on either side of the border. The treaty facilitated the construction of eSwatini’s […]
Posted inAll Stories, Climate Change, Research, Water
Action urged to scale up finance for Uganda’s water sector
Andrew Aijuka It is a few months to the reading of Uganda’s National Budget. Uganda’s planning and budgeting are informed by national needs. So, in every fiscal year, the budget addresses a national need. The Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development in December 2022 tabled a National Budget Framework Paper totaling Shs 49.9 trillion […]
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UN leaders push for innovative financing for water as world grapples with water-related disasters
By Annika McGinnis More than 10,000 participants gathered at the United Nations headquarters and online to push for global attention to the world’s escalating water crisis during the UN 2023 Water Conference that convened from 22-24 March in New York. Co-hosted by the governments of Tajikstan and the Netherlands, the first UN Water Conference in 46 […]
Posted inWater, All Stories, Climate Change
Groundwater Plays a Role in Reducing Gender-Based Violence in an Eastern Ugandan Community
By Melanie Aanyu This story first aired on Time FM in Eastern Uganda. It was supported by InfoNile with a grant from the Nile Basin Initiative. A section of girls and women in the Eastern Sub-region of Bugisu have revealed that the quest for water that used to expose them to rapists, defilers, and cannibals […]
Posted inWater, Climate Change
Western Kenya residents fear for their livelihoods as boreholes run dry
Jesse Chenge jchenge@nationmedia.co.ke Mt Elgon is one of Kenya’s main water towers. It is located north of Lake Victoria along the Nile Basin and reaches an altitude of 4,321 meters above sea level. The Mountain forms the upper catchment area for two major rivers: Nzoia and Turkwel, and provides water to the Malakisi River. […]
Posted inWater, Climate Change, Land, Research
An opaque agro-industry razes Cameroon’s forests with impunity
By Madeleine NGEUNGA Credits: This investigative story is the first part of a series co-published by InfoCongo, Oxpeckers and The Museba Project, with support from the Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Investigations Network (RIN). “Are we ready to risk 60 thousand hectares for Camvert, a company that has no experience in oil palm plantations?” asked Samuel Nguiffo, […]
Posted inWater, Climate Change, ground water, Photography, Research
Plastic bottle: The enemy within
Fredrick Mugira, Bertha Challenge Fellow After he had finished drinking his soda, Elioda Nabasa left the used Coca-cola plastic bottle in the pickup truck he was traveling in. Unaware of the presence of the used bottle, Bukenya Robert drove the car to the washing bay in Rwebikoona, Mbarara city, southwestern Uganda. Only identified as Murefu, […]
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MSF France sounds alarm as Cholera cases in Malawi soar
By George Mhango, Blantyre Increasing cases of Cholera in Mangochi—one of the 24 affected districts in Malawi—has forced the international medical humanitarian organization, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), to sound an SOS for the provision of more medical supplies to deal with the disease. This follows the visit to three treatment units, Koche, Monkey-Bay, and Cape […]
Posted inWater, ground water, Research
Investigation raises concerns over plastic waste accumulation on the shores of Africa’s Rift Valley lakes
By Water Journalist Africa An investigation into the concentration of microplastics in some Africa Rift Valley lakes has found no traces of microplastics there. However, the plastic wastes are visible on the major landing sites, raising fears over the whereabouts of these dangerous residues. The shorelines are littered with polythene bags and used plastic bottles […]
Posted inWater, Climate Change
Preparing for COP27: Ugandan youth climate activist tells world leaders to walk the talk on Africa’s climate crisis
Adella Mbabazi As world leaders prepare to travel to Egypt for this year’s UN Conference on climate change, a climate youth activist in southwestern Uganda Daphine Kansiime has petitioned them to take practical steps to address the climate crisis. Kansiime who has experienced the adverse effects of climate change in her life, talked to Water […]
Posted inAll Stories
Indigenous Power: Are indigenous people the best guardians of rainforests?
Indigenous power: Are indigenous people the best guardians of rainforests? Fredrick Mugira and Aimable Twahirwa This story was produced with support from the Rainforest Journalism Fund in partnership with the Pulitzer Center Thirty-one years after Kyomukama Jackson was evicted from Bwindi impenetrable forest in southwestern Uganda, the now 48-year pygmy is still hopeful that […]
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Groundwater brings smiles to communities in Burundi
Avit Ndayiziga and Gaspard Maheburwa In Burundi, like elsewhere in the countries that share the Kagera River Basin (Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda), water remains a limited and vulnerable resource. According to UNICEF, Burundi’s national drinking water coverage rate stands at “82.8%, of which 80.9% is in rural areas and 98.1% in urban areas.” Experts attribute this to […]
Posted inWater, All Stories, Climate Change, Special Projects
Tanzania calls for harmonized laws to protect environment and safeguard groundwater
Prosper Kwigize and Hadija Jumanne Groundwater is an essential source of water throughout rural and urban areas in Tanzania. Cities like Shinyanga, Singida, Babati, Arusha, Moshi, and Dodoma rely heavily on groundwater for public water supply. According to the Lake Victoria Basin Water Board Director, Dr. Renatus Shinhu, environmental degradation in the Kagera Basin has […]