Climate Witness: Mugaaju Asman, Uganda

My name is Mugaaju Asman. I am 50 years old and I live in Chayanja Village. I grow maize, beans, sorghum along the Semiliki Basin, which drains into Lake Edward in Uganda. I also go fishing in Lake Edward and Semiliki River. My family works with me on the farm.

I was born and brought up in Chayanja Village and I have lived here for 50 years now. I have noticed changes that are related to climate change for 35 years in my village and the lake. Other people, such as farmers and fishermen, have also observed these changes. We have documented the fast changing weather and declining harvest and diminishing fish stocks in the lake and the river.

The local climate has changed as we get harsh weather, erratic rains and diseases. We used to prepare our farms for long rains of August, but now we get the rains in October. When it comes, it’s accompanied by destruction, strong winds that blow away plants and houses, and flooding. The short rain that comes in April have also changed and now comes in May.

The weather has changed and we get nights with temperatures so high that people sleep outside their houses. Other times the weather is so cold that we've see a rise in health problems like pneumonia. The areas around the Semiliki Basin have acted as breeding ground for mosquitoes and malaria cases has increased. The long rains leave pools of water behind, and with that comes with bilharzia and cholera.

The forest cover of Semiliki River that use to give us rain has been depleted by human activities like charcoal burning, collecting building materials, while vegetation in the forest is diminishing due to changing weather.

The main consequence for me has been less harvest from farms. I adapt by fishing in the lake and the river though the fish stocks has declined in recent past. There has also been loss of vegetation covers along the Basin and lake and high temperatures in the lake and river during the night, when fishermen go to fish. The water in Lake Edward is also diminishing slowly.

The government should educate us the farmers and fishermen on climate change and why it is happening. They should assist us in planting trees around the lake and river basin so that we can get rains at normal seasons.