Green Manifesto for Local Council Elections 2025:You Can #MakeNebbiGreen Are you an Aspirant in the forthcoming Local Council(LC) Elections in Nebbi district? Over 45 participants from 9 sub-counties of Alala, Atego, Nebbi,Nyaruvur,Parombo, Acana, Parombo Town Council and Padwot heldat Angar town in Nyaruvur Town Council at an Environmental Rights and Climate Action Advocacy training workshop (November 2023), have a message for you. They have pointed out the following environmental challenges that need your attention and action as a potential leader, in your political manifesto for the upcoming Local Council Elections

A Green Manifesto for those seeking political power in the Local Council Elections in Nebbi district, expected to take place in 2025, has been launched. The Green Manifesto (hashtag #MakeNebbiGreen) identifies 5 key areas seeking the attention of those vying for political leadership in Nebbi district local councils. These include: the rising shortage of firewood in the area and the lack of electricity as a practicable option to stop the widespread use of tree biomass, continued use of the wasteful three-stone stove that, apart from consuming a lot of firewood, is also contributing to poor health of household members due to indoor air pollution; bush burning / wildfires that is still widely practiced for hunting and clearance of farm lands ahead of planting (dry season) and the need for renewal of pastures; weather and climate change; and the poor disposal of plastics (especially single use ones / Kaveera) in rural and urban areas.

Uganda presented her third Voluntary National Review (VNR) at this year‟s UN High Level Political Forum (HLPF) that took
place from 8 to 17 July 2024 in New York. The VNR was presented by the Rt. Hon Prime Minister - Robinah Nabbanja. It was under the theme “Reinforcing the 2030 Agenda and eradicating poverty in times of multiple crises: the effective
delivery of sustainable, resilient and innovative solutions‟, and concentrated on five SDGs (SDG 1, 2, 13, 16 & 17).
According to the VNR, Uganda has made progress in reducing the proportion of the population living in monetary and multidimensional poverty (SDG1). The incidence of monetary poverty (all ages) declined from 21.4% in 2016/17 to 20.3% in 2019/20. On SDG2, Uganda‟s VNR notes that the nutritional status of children in Uganda under-five years of age has been improving over the years. The prevalence of stunting in children under five years of age reduced from 45% in 2001 to 38% in 2006, then to 33% in 2011, further declining to 29% in 2016 and finally to 24% in 2022

As part of the follow up of the Training of Trainers (ToTs) under the Climate Action for Improved and
Sustainable Livelihoods (CAISL) Project being implemented in Nebbi district, a team from Joint Energy and
Environment Projects (JEEP) and Uganda Coalition for Sustainable Development (UCSD) made a visit to the
project area.
The team visited the Yellow Power Women‟s group in Koch, comprising 30 members have constructed 12
energy saving stoves in 12 households. The group members are mobilized by their chairperson Margaret Ocida,
to construct energy saving stoves for each member of the group.

My daughter likes cooking on the new stove as the coking environment is smoke-free, and the kitchen is safe to
work in‟, Margret Ocida noted as she took the JEEP and UCSD through the progress made by Yellow Power
Women‟s group. She added that the group is planning to scale up the use of the hay basket cooker alongside the
successful stove dissemination, through a scheduled training for group members by JEEP staff on one of the
Sundays, when they hold their weekly meetings.

On the 14th of May, the International Energy Agency (IEA), together with the Government of Tanzania, Norway, and the African Development Bank Group, chaired a Leaders Summit on Clean Cooking, that brought together over 1000 delegates, from governments, private sector, development partners, international organizations, philanthropies, and civil society, all driven by the shared objective of making 2024 a pivotal year for achieving universal access to clean cooking. The Summit aimed to raise the importance of clean cooking efforts at the highest levels, spark commitments and pledges and to build on the momentum and follow a roadmap for next actions (including the 2030 targets under SDG7)

The worldwide observance of the International Biodiversity Day commemorates the adoption of the text of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on 22 May 1992 and provides a unique opportunity to foster wide support for the Convention, its Protocols and related action frameworks. The Theme of
Biodiversity Day 2024 is: "Be part of the Plan". This is a call to action for all stakeholders to halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity by supporting the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, also referred to as the Biodiversity Plan. As humanity is facing the intertwined triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution, collaborative action is needed from all sectors of society to restore harmony with nature and foster a transition to sustainable socio-economic systems. Adoption of the Global Biodiversity Framework in December 2022 was therefore an important step to commit to action that protects nature

The seventh Uganda Water and Environment Week (UWEWK2024) organised by the Ministry of Water and Environment and Partners, took place from March 18 to22, 2023 on the overall theme: “Rethinking collective action and innovative solutions to water, environment, and climate change crisis in Uganda”. On the occasion of this event, Joint Energy and Environment Projects (JEEP) and Uganda Coalition for Sustainable Development (UCSD) issued a joint civil society statement that highlights issues and proposals grounded in their experiences while implementing the on-going Climate Action for Improved and Sustainable Livelihoods (CAISL) Project in Nebbi District (West Nile part of Uganda).

The EU's new deforestation regulation (EUDR) seeks to ensure that seven commodity products—soy, beef, palm oil, wood, cocoa, coffee and rubber, all of which are major drivers of deforestation—will no longer be sold in the EU if sourced from areas affected by deforestation or forest degradation practices. Operators and large traders will need to demonstrate origin, including geo coordinates in an auditable manner, to prove the product/commodity is deforestation free

In Uganda, the school calendar officially starts on Monday February 5. Cooking in many Ugandan schools is done using firewood. Reliance on wood for cooking has contributed to rapid deforestation. The National Forestry Authority (NFA) also revealed that Uganda loses about 92,000 hectares of trees as a result of deforestation annually attributed to demand for firewood, charcoal, timber and other forest products, among others. The New Vision (June 2023) estimated that for a full term, a day school of 500 learners needs 625 trees, equivalent to cutting down an acre of eucalyptus or pine trees.

In January 2024, Government of Uganda will host the third South Summit - the supreme decision-making body of the Group of 77 (G-77), centred on the impactful theme of "Leaving no one behind." The G-77 established on 15th June 1964 by seventy-seven developing countries, provides the means for the South to