Uganda Forms Alliance for Water Resource Management

Stakeholders in Uganda’s Rwenzori Region formally created the Albertine Water Resources Management and Climate Change Alliance at Fort Breeze Hotel in Fort Portal City. The alliance aims to improve climate resilience and sustainably manage water resources through the Strengthening Smallholder Farmer Resilience to Climate Change project. Mountains of the Moon University organized the launch meeting in partnership with Kabale University, Joint Efforts to Save the Environment, and Kigezi Women in Development, with funding from the Netherlands.

Samuel Tusiime Tinkasimire, a senior sociologist with the Ministry of Water and Environment, now chairs the alliance. Members will collaborate on strategies and guidelines for communities to adapt to climate change impacts. The group intends to develop solutions applicable to local farms and a new curriculum for water resource management at the master’s level.

Professor Moses Muhumuza of Mountains of the Moon University notes that over three million people in the Rwenzori Region rely on increasingly polluted and degraded water. The alliance’s success depends on coordinating diverse groups—government, private sector, and communities—to address these issues. Further research is needed to fully understand the extent of water degradation in the region.