Transforming Mediterranean Sea and Nile delta data into valuable Innovative Information Services
Egypt is among 14 countries in the North Africa and Mediterranean benefitting from an EU funded project titled “ODYSSEA - transforming Mediterranean Sea data into valuable innovative information services.” 28 partners from all over the basin are involved in the project implementation.
Despite the project is keen about the Mediterranean in Egypt, River Nile is taken as main target to set an observatory system for data collection and this part will be conducted by Arab Network for Environment and Development (RAED), a sister organization of Egypt National Discourse Forum (EgNDF) and its secretariat is hosted in the same place.
Changing lives of Communities in Busia Fishing Villages of Majanji and Maduwa
Majanji and Maduwa fishing villages are one of the remotest fishing villages in Busia District located within Lake Victoria Basin at the eastern border of Uganda and Kenya, which is also considered as a trans-boundary area where Sio - Malaba - Malakisi River flows into Lake Victoria. In this area where women represent over 50% of total inhabitants of the district, lack of ecological and sanitation facilities have been challenging the community, most especially women who are involved in fishing related activities.
The Uganda based Rural Development Media and Communication (RUDMEC), which is a member of Uganda National Discourse Forum (Uganda-NDF), noted this challenge when it was assigned to replicate the Ecological Sanitation Project in the rural community of Busia fishing village. According to Ms Sarah Kisolo, the RUDMEC coordinator, the organization has been implementing the same project in the urban slum area of Katwe in Kampala District. One of the local residents, Mrs Zaina Aramathan recalls the worst conditions they live in due to scarcity of latrines: "It has never been easy for us to keep going even in the communities we call home, living in shame due to lack of latrines; we need toilets for improved health" Mrs. Zaina explained.
Cultural beliefs are big hindrances towards the sanitation-related campaign because local communities associate the latrine concept with the cause for many misfortunes such as barrenness among the women and impotence for men. The representation and role of women in the community, prompted RUDMEC to make remarkable efforts of wiping out the cultural related beliefs through empowering women to enhance their roles and responsibilities and also to enable them demand for their rights. It was through this initiative that the environmentally friendly ECOSAN toilets were, for the first time, introduced in Busia district for demonstration on use and maintenance.
Women took lead and developed interest to acquire one for their families, through a cost-sharing mechanism. Ecological sanitation is an approach of human excreta disposal that aims at recycling nutrients back into the environment and turning them into more productive systems without destruction. The project, therefore, aimed at empowering local communities to take charge of the sustainable use of the natural resources around Lake Victoria so as to improve on their living conditions.
The objective of the project was to popularize best practices to improve the ecological sanitation and hygiene for good health among the beneficiaries as well as increase the vegetation cover to address the soil erosion occurrences and its accruing problems to enhance soil productivity for food security and energy needs in the targeted areas.
RUDMEC facilitated communities to attain the right attitudes, values and aspirations, to participate in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation processes of the project and other development programs.
As a result, the Public Health Educator testified that there is a remarkable improvement in sanitation in Busia District. Latrine coverage in Busia has also increased tremendously if compared to the time before RUDMEC intervention; the rate of infections like dysentery, trachoma, bilharzia and cholera has greatly reduced because of the awareness campaign on human waste management that the people living in Busia district have been involved in.
In Busia district, household health standards are measured by hygienic practices of using a pit latrine or eco-san latrine with a door, the latrine cover and a hand washing facility with soap. Other sanitation practices include: washing hands before eating, washing hands before breast feeding and serving food and maintenance of water hygiene from point of collection to point of use and garbage disposal sites.
So far, RUDMEC has facilitated construction of 42 eco san toilets in Busia districts at household and institutional levels which yielded a community response of constructing 10 ECOSAN toilets without assistance from RUDMEC. 80 land lords and their families have been trained in ecological sanitation and the management of ECOSAN toilets.
Village Environment Committees, consisting of nine people have been formed in each parish and have been trained to manage the project as overseers. 20 ECOSAN masons have been trained in the basic skills of construction of ECOSAN toilets.
ECOSAN technology is now being adopted on a wider scale as a better alternative to the traditional pit latrines. 50,000 tree seedlings have been provided to the communities and institutions for planting and the district authority offered seven acres for a woodlot along the lake banks. The by-products of ECOSAN are being used as fertilizers. Information, Educational and Communication (IEC) materials on general conservation and for promotion of ECOSAN technology have also been developed. These include 5 documentaries and posters. Radio drama skits and 340 radio programs in local languages ( Luganda and Samia) have also been broadcast.
Various technological modifications have been incorporated in original ECOSAN design with additional bathroom facilities. The district authority has made a commitment to give a percentage of the development fund towards the continuation of the project work and the youth have taken up the management of the tree nurseries as the women manage the charcoal briquettes for sustainable energy project.
For more information about the work of Rural Development Media and Communication (RUDMEC), please contact Ms Sarah Kisolo onThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The Uganda based Rural Development Media and Communication (RUDMEC), which is a member of Uganda National Discourse Forum (Uganda-NDF), noted this challenge when it was assigned to replicate the Ecological Sanitation Project in the rural community of Busia fishing village. According to Ms Sarah Kisolo, the RUDMEC coordinator, the organization has been implementing the same project in the urban slum area of Katwe in Kampala District. One of the local residents, Mrs Zaina Aramathan recalls the worst conditions they live in due to scarcity of latrines: "It has never been easy for us to keep going even in the communities we call home, living in shame due to lack of latrines; we need toilets for improved health" Mrs. Zaina explained.
Cultural beliefs are big hindrances towards the sanitation-related campaign because local communities associate the latrine concept with the cause for many misfortunes such as barrenness among the women and impotence for men. The representation and role of women in the community, prompted RUDMEC to make remarkable efforts of wiping out the cultural related beliefs through empowering women to enhance their roles and responsibilities and also to enable them demand for their rights. It was through this initiative that the environmentally friendly ECOSAN toilets were, for the first time, introduced in Busia district for demonstration on use and maintenance.
Women took lead and developed interest to acquire one for their families, through a cost-sharing mechanism. Ecological sanitation is an approach of human excreta disposal that aims at recycling nutrients back into the environment and turning them into more productive systems without destruction. The project, therefore, aimed at empowering local communities to take charge of the sustainable use of the natural resources around Lake Victoria so as to improve on their living conditions.
The objective of the project was to popularize best practices to improve the ecological sanitation and hygiene for good health among the beneficiaries as well as increase the vegetation cover to address the soil erosion occurrences and its accruing problems to enhance soil productivity for food security and energy needs in the targeted areas.
RUDMEC facilitated communities to attain the right attitudes, values and aspirations, to participate in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation processes of the project and other development programs.
As a result, the Public Health Educator testified that there is a remarkable improvement in sanitation in Busia District. Latrine coverage in Busia has also increased tremendously if compared to the time before RUDMEC intervention; the rate of infections like dysentery, trachoma, bilharzia and cholera has greatly reduced because of the awareness campaign on human waste management that the people living in Busia district have been involved in.
In Busia district, household health standards are measured by hygienic practices of using a pit latrine or eco-san latrine with a door, the latrine cover and a hand washing facility with soap. Other sanitation practices include: washing hands before eating, washing hands before breast feeding and serving food and maintenance of water hygiene from point of collection to point of use and garbage disposal sites.
So far, RUDMEC has facilitated construction of 42 eco san toilets in Busia districts at household and institutional levels which yielded a community response of constructing 10 ECOSAN toilets without assistance from RUDMEC. 80 land lords and their families have been trained in ecological sanitation and the management of ECOSAN toilets.
Village Environment Committees, consisting of nine people have been formed in each parish and have been trained to manage the project as overseers. 20 ECOSAN masons have been trained in the basic skills of construction of ECOSAN toilets.
ECOSAN technology is now being adopted on a wider scale as a better alternative to the traditional pit latrines. 50,000 tree seedlings have been provided to the communities and institutions for planting and the district authority offered seven acres for a woodlot along the lake banks. The by-products of ECOSAN are being used as fertilizers. Information, Educational and Communication (IEC) materials on general conservation and for promotion of ECOSAN technology have also been developed. These include 5 documentaries and posters. Radio drama skits and 340 radio programs in local languages ( Luganda and Samia) have also been broadcast.
Various technological modifications have been incorporated in original ECOSAN design with additional bathroom facilities. The district authority has made a commitment to give a percentage of the development fund towards the continuation of the project work and the youth have taken up the management of the tree nurseries as the women manage the charcoal briquettes for sustainable energy project.
For more information about the work of Rural Development Media and Communication (RUDMEC), please contact Ms Sarah Kisolo on
Improved education and awareness - raising for climate change mitigation and adaptation
On September 25th, 2015, countries adopted a set of goals to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all as part of a new sustainable development agenda. Each goal has specific targets to be achieved over the next 15 years.
From 16th - 20th January 2017, the Nile Basin Discourse (NBD) held virtual discussions on the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13, which requires signatories to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. The virtual discussion was focused on getting on-the-ground views towards Indicator1, (i.e. “Number of countries that have integrated mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning into primary, secondary and tertiary curricula”), of Target 3 (i.e. Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning). The aim of the discussion was to examine the extent to which indicator 1 of target 3 of the SDG 13, was being implemented at national levels and the role the civil society organizations (CSOs) are playing to influence implementation of the target through advocacy in the ten Nile Basin countries namely Burundi, D.R Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
The virtual discussion participants included the NBD Network of experts on climate within the Nile Basin countries, the NBD Board members, the National Discourse Forums’ (NDFs)-Technical Support Experts, selected members and partners of the Nile Basin Discourse.
Participants also discussed the role of CSOs in awareness-raising towards enhancement of the Governments efforts in fast-tracking Target 3 of Goal 13. The discussions cantered especially on the CSOs’ influence of the speed of implementation of the SDG at the learning institutions and the advocacy for the beyond institution outreach to grassroots communities. According to the participants, there was low level of involvement by civil society organizations in the implementation of the awareness-raising element of target3 of goal13. It was therefore agreed, that CSOs fill the gap of educating the community on climate change impact, mitigation and early warning signs by forging a strong partnership with Governments of the Nile Basin Countries, as a plausible way to ensure the efficient and effective implementation of SDG13 – Target 3.
The integration of climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning into primary, secondary and tertiary curricula and their implementation was viewed as fundamental to guarantee success of the target. In addition, the capacity and skills of University lecturers, School teachers, and other community educators is equally vital to the development of human capital required for the successful achievement of target3 and indicator1 under discussion.
In Summary, the emerging issues from the discussions were: (i) that for some of the Nile Basin countries, the target was being intergraded in the national plans, however the implementation process needed fast-tracking, (ii) that despite the fact that the target was being considered and integrated into National plans, there was lack of a metric system to measure the success of the target, and (iii) that there was need for national and trans-boundary outreach programs beyond the learning institutions to grassroots communities that could be enhanced by advocacy and capacity building activities to enhance the awareness –raising.
From 16th - 20th January 2017, the Nile Basin Discourse (NBD) held virtual discussions on the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13, which requires signatories to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. The virtual discussion was focused on getting on-the-ground views towards Indicator1, (i.e. “Number of countries that have integrated mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning into primary, secondary and tertiary curricula”), of Target 3 (i.e. Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning). The aim of the discussion was to examine the extent to which indicator 1 of target 3 of the SDG 13, was being implemented at national levels and the role the civil society organizations (CSOs) are playing to influence implementation of the target through advocacy in the ten Nile Basin countries namely Burundi, D.R Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
The virtual discussion participants included the NBD Network of experts on climate within the Nile Basin countries, the NBD Board members, the National Discourse Forums’ (NDFs)-Technical Support Experts, selected members and partners of the Nile Basin Discourse.
Participants also discussed the role of CSOs in awareness-raising towards enhancement of the Governments efforts in fast-tracking Target 3 of Goal 13. The discussions cantered especially on the CSOs’ influence of the speed of implementation of the SDG at the learning institutions and the advocacy for the beyond institution outreach to grassroots communities. According to the participants, there was low level of involvement by civil society organizations in the implementation of the awareness-raising element of target3 of goal13. It was therefore agreed, that CSOs fill the gap of educating the community on climate change impact, mitigation and early warning signs by forging a strong partnership with Governments of the Nile Basin Countries, as a plausible way to ensure the efficient and effective implementation of SDG13 – Target 3.
The integration of climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning into primary, secondary and tertiary curricula and their implementation was viewed as fundamental to guarantee success of the target. In addition, the capacity and skills of University lecturers, School teachers, and other community educators is equally vital to the development of human capital required for the successful achievement of target3 and indicator1 under discussion.
In Summary, the emerging issues from the discussions were: (i) that for some of the Nile Basin countries, the target was being intergraded in the national plans, however the implementation process needed fast-tracking, (ii) that despite the fact that the target was being considered and integrated into National plans, there was lack of a metric system to measure the success of the target, and (iii) that there was need for national and trans-boundary outreach programs beyond the learning institutions to grassroots communities that could be enhanced by advocacy and capacity building activities to enhance the awareness –raising.