IGAD gets equipment to monitor water resources

By Stella Naigino

REGIONAL countries under Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) have acquired equipment to respond to the perennial problem of drought, under a high course project to reduce on the negative impact of climate change on the hydrological cycle.

According to Norbert Wobusobozi the commissioner of water resources in the ministry of water and environment, the equipment is supposed to help the member countries monitor the levels of water in the basins.

He said they also intend to train youth in capacity building and management of the equipment so as to monitor underground water levels as well.

“The program, which started in 2014 and is expected to end in March 2016. It is being funded by European Union and the World Bank and it has received $22,000. With this money, installation of the hydrological equipment is being done in participating countries,” Wobusobozi said.

A four day summit aimed at concretizing a common response to drought in the region opened in Entebbe on Monday.

Wobusobozi said this comes at a time when people in Karamoja are suffering from famine and there is need for immediate intervention to ensure that this does not happen again.

Officiating at the meeting, the permanent secretary in the water and environment ministry Charles Esimu Okuraja said this is not different from the devastating drought in 2010 that affected 13 million people and almost decimated livestock in Somalia, Eritrea, northern Kenya and Djibouti.

“IGAD heads of state decided to take a proactive approach to the problem,” Wobusobozi said.

“With the high course project, there will be expansion and upgrade of the hydro metrological network providing time and data transmission system necessary for establishment of a regional water information system,” he added.

He said the impacts of climatic change on the hydrological cycle affect rainfall rates, precipitation amounts, storm intensity and run off. 

The approach dubbed Regional Drought Resilience and Sustainability Platform, according to Esimu, is “aimed at ending emergencies that come in the wake of severe droughts and also these efforts will go a long way in enhancing technical and institutional capacity of countries to collect, store and disseminate timely and accurate hydrological information to enable the efficient and economic management of water resources.”

“There are countries like Israel, Egypt and Tunisia which are located in deserts, but are actually doing well in terms of food security. We might not be able to stop occasional occurrence of droughts, but we can stop the tendency of every drought turning into an emergency,” he added.

IGAD region has an estimated 214 million people, with Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan as its members.