Young leaders from different CSOs, academia and green businesses came together to learn more and discuss environmental aspects and climate change. This workshop was organized by RCCDN and WEDOGREEN, from June 27 to 29.
Since the first day, all the lectures were about the climate system looking at the components of climate, looking at how climate variability differs from day-to-day weather and the factors that drive changes in climate.
On the first day of the workshop, the RCCDN Coordinator, Faustin Vuningoma broke down more of the topics and the participants learnt that Earth is 70% of oceans and 30% the land. Whether is a condition of the atmosphere at a given time and place and its effects are immediately felt. Climate is the average state of the atmosphere over a finite time, period and over geographic region.
Faustin Vuningoma, the RCCDN Coordinator shared some insights
“Climate is what we expect, the weather is what we get,” and these two are intimately linked because they provide a basis for understanding how weather events might change under a changing climate. The concept of environment is the circumstances and conditions that surround an organism or group of organisms as well as social and cultural conditions that affect individuals or communities.
The participants also looked at biodiversity and how to maintain/manage it, stabilization of human population and environment, conservation of natural resources and development of alternate sources of renewable energy systems.
In the last two days, all the participants, including RCCDN staff, looked at the greenhouse effect and how it controls the climate. The greenhouse effect could make the earth warmer than usual and cause problems for plants and animals and it is not similar. Global warming is a result of an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, hydrogen) that lead to an increase in the magnitude of the greenhouse effect.
“Radiation from the sun drives our climate, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are very good at capturing energy at wavelengths that other compounds miss, and humans have also changed the earth’s albedo mainly by adding aerosols to the atmosphere and these tend to cool climate, offsetting the Green House Gases warming.”
This workshop was an educative one in that every participant went home with some new knowledge gained and more information to refer to while taking part in this fight to protect and sustain the planet. They also got to connect with fellow youths in the green sector and shared their views and how to better plan advocacy and bring changes as young people and leaders of tomorrow.
Written by: Janet Uwase Mbabazi
