Mountain resilience: Collaborative Research matters

[caption id="attachment_2769" align="alignright" width="300"]BREAD researchers had partner meeting to share experience at CNDS, UPSALA University , in August 2017. BREAD researchers had partner meeting to share experience at CNDS, UPSALA University , in August 2017.


It is probably common knowledge now that mountain ecosystems are increasingly fragile, with the poor facing the brunt of shocks from changing climate conditions. Multi-institutional humanitarian efforts have been made, but have not halted the problem; hazards still occur, threatening to reverse developments achieved over decades. The urgency for evidence-based solutions to deter such threats is thus indisputable.

A project - beautifully coined BREAD, or the Partnership for Building Resilient Ecosystems and Livelihoods to Climate Change and Disaster Risks in Uganda - hopes to make a difference in the thinking in terms of how to address the hazard or disaster challenges faced by mountain communities. A multi-disciplinary team of researchers from Universities in the north (Lund and Upsala in Sweden) and south (Makerere and Gulu in Uganda) secured five year (2015-2020) funding from SIDA, with the goal largely to strengthen institutional capacity and preparedness in tackling hazards and disasters.

[caption id="attachment_2772" align="alignleft" width="300"]The auto weather station installed at Bulucheke S.S is critical for Monitoring and Early Warning in Disaster prone area in Bududa and adjacent areas. The auto weather station installed at Bulucheke S.S is critical for
monitoring and early warning in Bududa and adjacent disaster-prone areas.


Senior experts and junior researchers are working closely to sharpen the research questions so as to answer to societal demands. Pertinent questions pursued include; what are the dynamics and causes of persistent hazards raising havoc in the region? What are the data and tool needs of the local government technical staff? How can researchers influence policy and decisions to mitigate the hazards in the region? How resilient are ecosystems in the region under changing climatic and socio-economic conditions? Where is the middle ground for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to influence action and uptake of the research information?
Three PhD students, recruited from the participating institutions in the south, are pursuing research on floods and urban resilience to climate change impacts in the Mt. Elgon region. Small grants were also extended to junior and senior staff working on diverse weather/climate disaster related issues in other hot spot areas of the south western highlands. Two post docs have also received support to implement their research on vulnerability and climate modeling in the south western highlands of Uganda.

The team is working in collaboration with the local government technical staff and communities to generate data and knowledge. It is hoped this will empower the local district staff in guiding others or in making good decisions prior to, during, or after times of disaster.

[caption id="attachment_2770" align="alignright" width="300"]Landslide disaster in Nametsi village in Bududa; over 300 lives were lost in 2010. Landslide disaster in Nametsi village in Bududa; over 300 lives were lost in 2010.


As part of the goal of knowledge production and sharing, BREAD researchers are expected to publish in peer reviewed journals and also disseminate their findings at workshops and conferences. Some publications achieved so far can be accessed on the project website. Tools and new approaches generated from BREAD will be available for application in similar environments elsewhere in the world.

Our desire is to have a state-of-art-science research faculty to adequately respond to national demands in disaster risk research and reduction. We are open to anyone interested in sharing experience, and will continue to keep you posted in future.

This post was written by Dr Bob Nakileza, Senior Researcher at the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences of the Makerere University in Uganda.

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