Environment & Climate Change
THE STAND FOR HER LAND CAMPAIGN LAUNCH IN UGANDA
Stand 4 Her land Campaign has an enormous ambition of making land rights a reality for millions of women around the world, including our beloved country Uganda and it works through collective country led advocacy aimed at closing the implementation gaps between normative aspirations reflected in Uganda’s laws and the lived realities and practice in regards to women’s land rights.
It’s well understood the nature of Tenure in Uganda, this can be dealt with through removing the social, and structural barriers that prevent women from exercising their land rights and ensuring that land tenure governance, reforms and processed equitably include and benefit women.
LOSCO in Partnership with UCOBAC and NLC-U envisages the five key campaign strategic advocacy priority areas to actualize the women’s land rights. They include transformation of social norms and cultural practices that prevent women from accessing, owning and controlling land; adequate financing, skilling and capacitating of land governance institutions to support WRL; increased legal literacy on WLRs for all, enhanced access to land justice for women; and strengthened participation, voice and agency of grassroots women in land governance.
The need to move from Talk to Action especially the need to understand Land in relation to Climate Change considering the linkage through Recognizing the role that Land plays in Climate – Providing and holding resources. Western economies pay to keep the natural resources. Who are the best people to keep? the owners. Avail Alternatives. Maintain the Carbon sinks intact i.e Swamps and Forests.
Address peer pressure for men taking equal stand as women. Empower men too because Titling cannot solve women’s land issues.
JUSTIFICATION FOR WOMEN’S LAND RIGHTS
Has it matured or retrogressed? Human Rights Argument trying to enlight that women have the right to own and possess property too.
Equity, women over 50% of the population and more than 70% in Agriculture.
Thus, Women would have more rights to own the Land. Enable the Woman to Clearly and resourcefully empower the owners of this Land.
Consider Succession Act, CEDAW, ICSER
Administrative Regulations and need to fill the big gap that exists in implementation of the Law…
Land Rights Laws for women have existing controversies for instance Marriage is upon Canon Law and divorce is done via Statutory Law….
The issue of Duty bearers in public offices that facilitate corruption through bureaucratic tendencies
RECOMMENDATIONS
– Land Rights are personal with societal implications. They are interpersonal. Get to private spaces for influence to Materialize.
– Appeal to the man to appreciate the need for inclusion of women in the titles.
– Do stakeholder analysis for collaborative traction and involve program style interventions than Project ones. Consider prevalence than severity
– Interventions need maturity periods. The political will has a telling impact. Work on women as a Constituency.
– The campaign can target CP LCIII and V to nominate strategic women on the Committees. Target the duty bearers. That is Practice Activism.
There is no Blue print on how National policy is incorporated into Land Rights.
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USING HUMAN RIGHTS BASED APPROACH TO TACKLING THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
Dunia Nzuri Climate Outreach (DNCO) & EAPN Partnership Meeting
LOSCO a Human Rights Organisation in Kigezi has been doing some around Climate Change and Environmental justice especially doing advocacy work for people who are being threatened with evictions from the low lands and swamps that have been occupied for over 70 years with no alternative livelihoods. LOSCO has been on the forefront in this effort doing Radio talk shows and community dialogues on the same.
LOSCO also did a Tree planting activity in the communities of Kyanamira Sub Country during the time the area was heavily flooding and experiencing mudslides which was a welcome intervention. This was done in partnership with OXFAM where over 2000 Fruit tree seedlings were distributed in the subcounty to both protect the environment and give food to the beneficiaries.
LOSCO has so far had two meetings with the Regional Mineral Police to discuss the issues of Pollution in the mineral rich areas of Buhara Sub County in Kabale where a chinese company was contracted to extract Iron Ore which the RDC with other Duty bearers intervened and was able to be brought to a common understanding.
LOSCO was also in the last month able to meet with a Team from Margret Pyke Trust in a bid to establish a partnership that would see us work on building capacity for stakeholders on integrating SRHR and Climate change Programs since the most affected populations are women and Children in school and agriculture.
Through the same project, LOSCO in partnership with YADNET, International Crane Foundation (ICF), Uplift Rural Poor, Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU), and Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH)., in Kigezi region were identified to kick start the regional integration agenda. And among others are Policy reviews on National Climate Change Policy, National Environment Policy, National Determined Contributions (NDCs) which have also been seen to have some gaps in as far as HRBA is concerned.
LOSCO is also continuing to have conversations concerning land Rights in mineral rich areas where there are forced evictions and encroachment and this would have to be attended to swiftly.
LOSCO has also been having strategic conversations with SRHR & CJ based in Brooklyn, NY; being a member of the coalition to forge ways of getting to the best means of averting the Climate Change that is having a Global Impact.
There are also evictions for Batwa communities with no viable alternatives for livelihoods which LOSCO is also continuing to push for better livelihoods and has so far built over 45 Houses and resettled different households in partnership with missionary friends attached to Hope Mission Uganda.
Through EAPN and DNCO, LOSCO will be able to bring together Stakeholders to promote philanthropy building a partnership around Public Private Partnership Concept and creating learning platforms where Climate Change will be streamlined.
For this to be realised, there is need to trickle down the cause effect analysis to be able to identify and isolate the major concerns for action. This will include looking more into Gender in climate Change, connecting policy to Action, Doing more research and sharing information and Partnership and collaboration.
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Climate Change Trainings, Budget Advocacy & HRBA Support
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After empowering the rural farmers with skills in Rabbit rearing, LOSCO in partnership with KIHEFO gave a start up to some of the farmers for their income boost in families and villages.
