Resources and Development Journal

GLOBAL WARMING LIKELY TO BE WORSE THAN THOUGHT
When climate scientists look ahead to how much the planet's surface temperature may warm up in response to a doubling of carbon dioxide- a byproduct of fossil fuel burning- they typically predict a rise of between 2.1 and 4.7 degrees Celsius (3.75 to 8.5 degrees Fahrenheit).But these models overestimate the ability of clouds to reflect back sunlight, and counteract warming in Earth's atmosphere, researchers said. It was found that the climate sensitivity increased from four degrees Celsius in the default model to five to 5.3 degrees Celsius in versions that were modified to bring liquid and ice amounts into closer agreement with observations. The problem is most models assume there is more ice in clouds than there actually is. Icier clouds would gain more liquid in a warming environment, and more liquid in clouds would mean less global warming. Most climate models are a little too eager to glaciate below freezing, so they are likely exaggerating the increase in cloud reflectivity as the atmosphere warms. This means they may be systematically underestimating how much warming will occur in response to carbon dioxide. The findings add to previous studies that have suggested clouds may make warming worse, rather than lessen it. The evidence is piling up against an overall stabilizing cloud feedback. Clouds do not seem to want to do us any favors when it comes to limiting global warming. COMMENT

CANADA TO SUPPORT RENEWABLE ENERGY IN AFRICA
Canada will provide $150 million in support for renewable energy in Africa. The pledge is part of the African Renewable Energy Initiative. Africa is home to more than 640 million people without electricity and an additional 120 million that rely on firewood and charcoal for fuel. In sub-Saharan African two out of three people have no access to electricity. If not seized on renewable energies now, Africa’s energy needs can only be satisfied by oil, gas and coal with disastrous climate outcomes. However, bringing clean energy to the millions in Africa without electricity will require peoples willingness to make the difficult reforms that are necessary to make these deals advance. COMMENT

URBAN INCLUSION NEEDED THAN EVER BEFORE
Urbanization in Africa and Asia have continued to the push for urban inclusion more than ever . Cities are growing at historic rates, with 90 percent of urban growth taking place in Asia and Africa. Its clear that urbanization has the potential to lift people out of poverty and increase prosperity however the rising inequality and exclusion threaten to derail progress. People move to cities looking for better jobs and more opportunity, but too often end up trapped in a stigmatized space of poverty and marginalization. Nearly 1 billion urban poor live in informal settlements around the world. The current levels of urban poverty and inequality, coupled with the projected rates of urbanization, send a clear and unequivocal signal of the need to foster inclusion and do it differently. Comment

POOR LAND RIGHTS AS DRIVERS OF DEGRADATION
Insecure land rights rights are key drivers of biodiversity and natural resource degradation. Where rights are poorly defined and/or poorly enforced, natural resources and ecosystems can be quickly degraded because incentives to protect resources are weak or absent. Such rights' insecurity may easily result in overgrazing, poaching of wildlife, deforestation, ineffective watershed management, and poorly planned extraction industry investments, among other negative outcomes. Degradation and misuse of resources limit prospects for long-run economic growth and the diversified livelihood options that come from more effective natural resource management. COMMENT

UN-EATEN FOOD WASTE ADDING OVER 3 BILLION TONS OF GHGs ANNUALLY
Food that is produced but not eaten adds 3.3 billion tons of greenhouses gases to the atmosphere every year. Food that is produced but not eaten consumes a volume of water three times greater than Lake Geneva and than the entire global shipping industry. In addition, direct economic consequences of food waste (excluding fish and seafood) is estimated to be $750 billion annually. Therefore all stakeholders must make changes at every link of the human food chain to prevent food wastage at all stages of the food chain. Fifty-four percent occurs “upstream” during production, post-harvest handling, and storage, while 46 percent occurs “downstream” during the processing, distribution, and consumption stages. Developing countries suffer more food loss during agricultural production, while food waste is higher in middle & high-income at the retail and consumer level. COMMENT

UGANDA LIKELY TO MISS MDG 1
Elimination of hunger is still a challenge for Uganda. Despite the global decline in the number of people going hungry, about nine million Ugandans remain undernourished. Uganda’s portion of undernourished population currently stands at 25.5 per cent. However, Uganda’s prevalence of undernourishment remains high and has not achieved the Millennium Development Goal, which calls for total elimination of hunger by end of this year. However, Eastern Africa has the biggest hunger problem, with 124 million people undernourished. Tanzania has 16.8m hungry people, Kenya 9.9m and Rwanda 3 million. Uganda is food secure but access is still a challenge in terms of food movement from one place to another. COMMENT!

WHY GOVERNMENT MUST PLAY A ROLE IN LAND DISTRIBUTION
The Ugandan government has poorly applied equitable access and distribution of land to marginalized groups especially, rural women. There is need to revisit the land policy such that large chunks of land are not only held by some few richer people at the expense of the majority poor ones. The current policy does not distribute land equitably but rather gives more powers to foreign investors and the few richer ones compared to the poor. Land in Uganda is not scarce, but the greedy amass bigger chunks of land making it scarce. Ugandans need to be made aware of how important it is for women to own property and land. This is because they take care of the family in the event that the husband departs and contributes a greatly to the food basket. If corrected the land policy can help streamline women's access to land. Women face difficulties getting access to land since most societies are patriarchal and prohibit females' inheritance. COMMENT!!!

LAND RIGHTS RELATED TO GENDER VIOLENCE
There is a growing body of evidence shows a correlation between GBV and land rights, though whether this correlation is positive or negative depends on context and culture. Secure land rights can increase a woman’s economic independence and bargaining power, thereby reducing her vulnerability to GBV. Further, secure land rights can empower women, and may give them more freedom to leave abusive relationships. However, some studies show that in areas where traditional norms dominate, gains in women’s property ownership and employment status seemed to increase the risk of domestic violence. In some cases, a woman’s increased economic power might lead to violence from men seeking to reassert their dominance and power in the home.
COMMENT!!!

AMURU & NWOYA'S UNUTILIZED LAND ATTRACTING GRABBERS.
Amuru and Nwoya have 90% of their total land unutilized. This land is attracting land grabbers from all over Uganda. Locals have vowed to fight all grabbers till the end. Comment!