KAMPALA – The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and Busitema University have agreed to cooperate in addressing the challenges of climate change and environmental research.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed on Thursday, February 1, 2024, will provide an innovative research approach, data-driven and technology-based solutions concerning environmental management, said NEMA executive director, Dr. Barirega Akankwasah.
He explained NEMA can only achieve its mandates through working with lead agencies and partners like Busitema University which is in the environmental management space.
“There is no way one institution can deliver the environment because it (environment) is everything that exists and it’s everything that we do including physical, bio-physical, social, economic, and all other aspects of life. They all constitute environment, and so it’s not achievable to deliver that mandate, without corroborating with partners, without working with lead agencies or restrictive institutions that deal with the various segments of environment,” explained Dr Akankwasa.
Under this new working arrangement, NEMA will collaborate with Busitema University by providing industrial training to students while the university being the centre of knowledge, will host NEMA staff for knowledge updates in natural resource management.
“Universities are centres of knowledge, they are centres of data and information, which we all need to be able to manage the resources better. But we also provide a living laboratory or real-life training ground for their products to develop skills. So we can also provide real-life real situation, real environment situation training opportunities for their staff by interning with us, by apprenticeship, so its mutual benefit,” he said.
Busitema University is one of the leading government universities in Uganda.
Dr. Akankwasah said the university is engaged in several recent research programmes that are of importance to NEMA.
Prof. Paul Waako, the Vice Chancellor of Busitema University who signed on behalf of the institution
said the university has made already some significant progress in the areas related to the environment including the extraction of gold without using mercury.
“The Department of Mining at Busitema has developed methods of extracting gold without using mercury, and these extractions, the reports from the preliminary studies indicate that the yields saving much better than what you can get using maturity,” she said.
Prof Waako added: “We also developed systems that could predict landslides in the Elgon region and these will help us not only to save lives but also to ensure that mitigation measures are put in place in adequate time to avert any possible disasters.”
He said the newfound working relationship with the environment watchdog will bolster environment management efforts including helping the university in the establishment of the Centre of Excellence.
On his part, NEMA Board Chair, Prof. Okumu Okot who presided over the MOU signing said environment management is a complex matter that needs collaborations of such nature. He commended Busitema Univeristy for its innovations in environment management.
He also reiterated the call for partnerships, stating that collaborative efforts enhance funding and amplify the impact of natural resource management across the country.
“In the national effort of sustainable development, we need to collaborate and you can only do it through institutions that are specialised in different areas,” he emphasized.
Furthermore, the collaboration will cultivate a nurturing environment for graduate students pursuing advanced degrees, offering them invaluable guidance and research supervision.
Of paramount significance is the mutual commitment to addressing the pressing matter of natural resource valuation—an area that holds immense implications for contemporary global challenges.
Simultaneously, they pledge to engage actively with industry partners and key stakeholders, ensuring that this historic meeting represents a monumental step toward a more sustainable future for environmental management and preservation.
