Editor,

Rwanda, like many other East African countries, is vulnerable to impacts of climate change. However, the whole climate change concept is misunderstood — including even at policy level.

In 2009, a project aimed at mainstreaming "the vulnerability and impacts of climate change to communities in the Northern Province” to local government authorities was miserably failed by an institution under the Ministry of Education because the ones who were supposed to implement the project did not understand its significance nor the concept itself.

The funding organization, which had given the grant, withdrew in protest. They had originally wanted the institution to appoint people with knowledge in concepts and principals of climate change mitigation. This was not done.

The impacts of climate change affect weather patterns and ultimately the farming patterns. It does not just stop there; it is also affecting the water levels of major lakes in northern Rwanda, e.g. Lake Burera which feeds the hydro-electric station in Burera, where a big chunk of our electrical energy is derived from. Water levels depreciate and thus the production of electricity.

We need to mainstream climate change and its impacts at local levels so that it can be integrated within the decentralised government systems. Short of that, we shall continue to cry for help from "developed countries” when we can't help ourselves.

James Munanura

Reaction to the story, "Farmers wary as new weather patterns threaten production” (The New Times, September 17)