What is Green economy?

Stuart Worsely, the programme director at the Green Economy coalition said the Green Economy has three pillars namely economic prosperity, environmental sustainability and social inclusion.

He said most countries were depleting resources and do not pay attention to the environment.

"There is cause to worry, said Worsely. "The inequality gap is increasing. The citizens are being marginalised and biodiversity is under threat." conservation.

Worsely gave India as an example pointing that only 10% of the population owns half of India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). "The poor are getting poorer that is very dangerous," said Worsely. 

He pointed out that the population is increasing yet the ecological systems are expanding. "We need efficient use of resources," said Worsely. "The economic growth in different countries has been uncosted use of resources."

He was speaking during the Uganda Water and Environment Week (UWEWK) at the Water Resources Institute in Entebbe. (UWEWK) started on March 18th and is expected to end on March 22nd. 

Worsely said assessment on biodiversity shows that the situation is getting worse. "We need between $300-400m globally to invest in biodiversity every year," he said.

He said wealth needs to be re-defined pointing out that sitting on a pile of paper money not backed up by resources does not constitute wealth. 

What others say 

Lillian Idrakua the water quality management in the Ministry of water said

The blue green economy is quite useful but calling for new laws and policies in addition to skills in Uganda is not called for because Uganda already has good laws and policies.

The capacity of the technocrats to plan is there but what is letting people down is the will to commit resources for implementation of the laws and enforcement.

She said when people talk of change in mindset; it is just apolitical statements saying the change should be in the mind of politicians.

At my level I do all the planning but what is required is the resources to implement the plan otherwise we are wasting a lot of time.

Flavia Nabugere Munaaba the former State minister of Environment and the secretary Uganda bamboo farmers association observed that the green growth economy is making physical enterprise in natural resources where citizens and other investors can take advantage of the nation in order to achieve its targets of becoming a first class economy by 2040.

Nathan Mununuzi a senior Environmental officer in the ministry of water said that the blue green economy is shifting the commercial thinking about economic growth to take care of the environmental sustainability and social equality.

Uganda is a natural resources dependent economy meaning the natural resources are the basis for economic growth, "he said. 

Martin Watsisi the Regional wash advisor IRC said the will, interest and the skills can be available  but greening using blue economy has been betrayed by the political unwillingness by the decision makers where the parliament and the cabinet is not willing to implement which the technocrats have already suggested.

He said that attaching an economic value on the green and blue resources should help to determine whoever destroys see how much in the economic terms has been destroyed or wasted on the natural resources.