THE USE OF SOLAR ENERGY IN SCHOOLS IS ESSENTIAL
The continuous cutting down of trees for fuel wood has made the country suffer the impacts of climate change, and we are likely to continue experiencing them if it does not act now.
By Guest Writer
OPINION: On March 21, 2023, countries all over the world celebrated International Forest Day to raise awareness about the values, significance, and contributions of the forests in maintaining the balance between ecosystems on earth.
However, for a country like Uganda, protecting forests has been a dream because its population greatly relies on fossil fuels such as wood for cooking.
The continuous cutting down of trees for fuel wood has made the country suffer the impacts of climate change, and we are likely to continue experiencing them if it does not act now.
Research shows that in schools, firewood is the third highest running expense after staff wages and food, meaning that the demand for fuelwood from forests and woodlands is high. Introducing learning institutions to the use of solar energy will therefore help in conserving forests that have been cut down for timber and wood, thereby combating greenhouse gas emissions and global warming.
New Vision, in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, introduced the Green Schools Project with the aim of raising awareness and sensitizing the public on climate change triggered by fossil fuels.
The project has so far benefited 100 schools, with Rwamwanja SS in Kamwenge district being one of the beneficiaries. The school resorted to using solar energy, and since then, firewood usage has reduced.
It is therefore my call to the government and the minister of energy and mineral development to put in place green-related projects so that other schools can practice what some schools have so far done. This will help in registering progress without causing climate change in the environment in which we reside.
I encourage learning institutions at every level of education to include solar energy on the teaching syllabus to enable learners to know how solar energy is applicable since it is reliable, affordable, and sustainable, thereby enabling them to create awareness and sensitization within and to entire communities.
Last but not least, the government should support the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and the environmental activists who are spearheading the transition from fossil fuels to alternative sources of energy by putting in place a solar energy policy.
This will smooth their work as they extend it to the entire public, thus promoting clean, renewable energy.
Save the environment by thinking green.
The author is Hildah Nsimiire, a researcher at the Great Lakes Institute for Strategic Studies.
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