Food Security among Batwa in a Changing Climate in Kanungu District

Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2015 in the subject Geography / Earth Science - Economic Geography, grade: B+, Makerere University (Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Climatic Sciences), language: English, abstract: Climate change is increasingly becoming a major topical issue globally and its impact on food security has a long standing interest world over amongst researchers in a quest to establish a sustainable food supply systems to the ever increasing populations. The study was carried out on food security and the changing climate among Batwa communities in Kannungu district. The specific objectives of the study were; to identify the indicators of changing climate in Kanungu, assess the current food security status amongst Batwa communities, analyze future food security and strategies for enhancing food security in a changing climate, and suggest policy recommendations to be undertaken on how to enhance food security in a changing climate. The study was conducted using secondary data collected by IHACC (Indigenous Health Adaptation to Climate Change) project operating in Batwa communities as the primary source of information with Focus Group interviews at Mukongolo Batwa settlement to supplement on the existing literature through getting firsthand information on study objectives. At the end of the study, it was established that Batwa communities severely suffer from food insecurity with constrained access to land as a major resource a problem further catalyzed by poor knowledge and adaptive capacity towards the current changes in climate. The study concluded that capacity building about issues of climate change is detrimental in necessitating food security among Batwa communities. The study also concludes that Batwa communities should benefit more from proceeds of managing of Bwindi impenetrable National park since it was their ancestral land which may enhance them to be entitled to the benefits from the income generated from the park to improve their livelihood sustainability.Therefore the study recommended that capacity building on climate change, stream lining the tenure system among Batwa communities and infrastructural developments as policy recommendations to enhance food security amidst the changing environment.