Fred Mwasa In eastern Rwanda, where temperatures have been in the upper highs for many decades, there is very little water on the surface in the form of natural wells, streams, rivers, and lakes. While government-led interventions such as massive afforestation have improved the situation, the rains are not as widespread as in other regions […]
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Groundwater holds the promise of closing the gap between water supply and demand
Sarah Mawerere This story first aired on UBC Radio Airwaves. It was supported by InfoNile with a grant from the Nile Basin Initiative. Groundwater is the most important source of drinking water for people as well as livestock and wildlife watering in the 11 countries in the Nile Basin. According to the Nile Basin Initiative, […]
Posted inAll Stories, Water
Uganda’s Fort Portal city takes steps to tackle plastic waste as its only source of water chocks on plastics
Fredrick Mugira, Bertha fellow After failing to secure a job in his formal profession, Samuel Kiiza, a business administration graduate, turned to recycling plastic bottles in Uganda’s tourism city, Fort Portal. Three years in his new profession, Kiiza confidently identifies himself as one of the inventors in the country, helping to remove plastic waste from […]
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River Nile, a freeway of plastics from African great lakes to Mediterranean Sea
Fredrick Mugira, Bertha Fellow Two small rivers in western Uganda: Mpanga, and Rwizi, are choking on plastic waste, carrying it to lakes that drain into the River Nile. Once in the Nile, this plastic debris may flow into the Mediterranean Sea. Mpanga River traverses Fort Portal, a city of 52,911 population, picking up all […]
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‘We have no time to waste,’ water activist Mina Guli urges urgent action to preserve water resources
Fredrick Mugira Water advocate, ultra-marathon runner, and businesswoman Mina Guli have been running in various African countries since mid-June as part of the African leg of the RUN BLUE Campaign, which will see her completing 200 marathons around the world by March next year. Australian-born Guli is the CEO of Thirst Foundation, a non-profit organisation […]
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Rural schools in western Uganda transform used plastic bottles into value
Fredrick Mugira, Bertha Fellow A local organization in western Uganda, the Kazinga channel schools project, is sowing seeds of plastic waste management in young people through conservation clubs in schools. Through these clubs, the pupils, their parents, teachers, and villagers in the sub-counties of Lake Katwe in Kasese district and Katunguru in Rubirizi district collect […]
Posted inAll Stories, ground water, Water
Protect the environment to secure groundwater
Fredrick Mugira Kakukuru-Rwenanura Town Council is found in Ntungamo District and lies within the Kagera basin in Uganda. Over the last six years, 12 shallow wells and 16 bore holes have dried up, according to Kahinda Misach, the former chairperson of the Rwikiniro sub-county who is now the Kakukuru-Rwenanura town council mayor. Almost all shallow […]
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Polluted by custodians: Fishers pollute African Great Lakes with plastics
Fredrick Mugira, Bertha Fellow When the sun had nearly set, John Depari and two other fishers slowed down their motorized boat and said to one another, “It is here,” before casting nets somewhere in the quiet waters of Lake Edward in western Uganda. It was not only the nets they cast: there were stones, empty […]
Posted inWater, All Stories, Drought
PHOTO STORY: WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE INITIATIVES INCREASE ACCESS TO CLEAN, SAFE WATER IN EAST AND HORN OF AFRICA
By Amber Christino Between the devastating drought ongoing in countries like Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and Djibouti, and recurrent floods in South Sudan and Burundi, it is clear that water has the power to displace millions of people, significantly impacting migration throughout the region. Lack of access to water and drought can increase forced migration. In […]
Posted inWater, Climate Change, Drought
Ethiopia’s Drought Forces Afar Residents to Use Dirty Water
By Halima Athumani A dirty stream stems from Ethiopia’s Awash River, a lifeline for locals and their main water source for bathing, washing, cooking, and drinking. Ethiopia is reeling from the worst drought to hit the Horn of Africa in 40 years, and the northern Afar region is no exception. Clean water is a luxury […]
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Drinkable Water: How clean is clean
By Stacey Fulufhelo Williams Amongst the key environmental challenges faced in South Africa is access to clean drinking water. The drinkability of water varies, depending on the quality checks conducted at each treatment plant. This means, when your water looks strange, the treatment process may have changed at the treatment plant. The basic right to […]
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Climate change equals inequality in Africa
By Albert Nkwasa & Seppe Lampe Climate change is a global crisis, we are all in this together. But we are not in this together equally. Climate change is mainly caused bygreenhouse gas emission of developed nations. However, developing countries, young people and women are much more affected by climate change. Because of climate change, […]
Posted inClimate Change, Water
From machetes to dialogue: Somali communities optimistic about a future free of water conflicts
Abdikhayr Mohamed Hussein, Bertha Fellow 2022 Somalia experienced disastrous droughts between 2000 and 2011, but the current dry spell is the worst in the last decade. This is attributed to the failure of the previous three consecutive rainy seasons dating back to October 2020. The worsening drought has led to water scarcity, food insecurity, and […]
Posted inClimate Change, Water
Trading livestock for water: A nightmare for pastoralists in Somalia as drought hits hard
Abdikhayr Mohamed Hussein, Bertha Fellow 2022 Somalia is facing the worst drought in decades following the failure of three consecutive rainy seasons since October 2020. The worsening drought has exacerbated water shortage, particularly for the rural communities that make up 60% of the country’s 15.8 million people. The persistent reduction of fresh water and repeated […]
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From source to water bodies and dining table: Tracking the journey of plastics in Uganda
Fredrick Mugira, Bertha Fellow 25th April 2022 Last February, Ramathan Kimbugwe, the CEO of Prowess Communications Company, was jogging early morning when he noticed something strange about a river in his community. Thousands of used plastic bottles were heaping in Rwizi, a lifeline river for over five million people in southwestern Uganda, at a point […]