The growing demand for non-renewable mineral resources is among the world’s greatest sustainability challenges.

But for many countries it can also present a significant opportunity for growth and development. While grappling with the important question of how to meet the resource needs of a growing population in a way that takes into consideration the needs of future generations, it is easy to overlook the role that mining and its benefits can play in a nation’s long-term social and economic development; with mining can come employment and skill development, investments in education, the construction of infrastructure, and the generation of much-needed revenue. The presence of a strong legal and policy framework is needed to maximize these benefits, a framework that promotes the development benefits of mining while upholding strong environmental and social standards. The Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) is working to advance such policies and good governance practices through its Mining Policy Framework (MPF).

With support from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) is working with selected member states of the IGF to help them operationalize practices consistent with the MPF. As a first step, IISD conducted an assessment of national law, policy and administrative frameworks for mining and minerals development and management in three IGF member states relative to the six themes of the MPF. The assessments measure the readiness of the member states to implement the MPF through these existing government measures. This report presents the assessment for Uganda, with a view to: helping the government target their efforts in implementing the MPF; informing capacity-building efforts; and allowing for monitoring of progress over time.

Relatively little has been done to date to support climate adaptation along entire value chains.

Yet to secure sustainable investments in value chain development, decision-makers at all levels in the public and private sectors need to ensure that climate risks are managed not just at the production level, but also throughout the entire value chain, from production to marketing. This is particularly relevant for commodity-dependent developing countries, such as Uganda.

The International Institute for Sustainable Development collaborated with the Uganda Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, Makerere University and the Climate and Development Knowledge Network during a six-month period in 2013 to provide a platform for dialogue on climate risk management among actors along the coffee value chain. This innovative new pilot initiative demonstrates how to take a more integrated approach to climate adaptation.

The analysis of climate impacts and responses along the value chain was based on a qualitative and participatory approach using Climate Dialogue Theatres—a method that uses drama to elucidate value chain actor perceptions of climate impacts and responses, and to promote adult learning on climate adaptation. The process mobilized a total of 80 participants representing farm input suppliers, coffee farmers, traders, processors, exporters and service providers from Rakai district (southwest) and Kampala.

The initiative shows that climate hazards such as droughts, floods and changing rainfall patterns already negatively affect all actors along the coffee value chain, but in different ways and to different extents. Coffee farmers and processors generally tend to be more vulnerable to climate hazards than traders, middlemen and exporters, due to their limited diversification, weak organizational capacities and the unfavourable policy environment. Most actors are already making some efforts to minimize the negative impacts of climate hazards on their activities, but not all responses are sustainable. The study also provides evidence that a lack of communication and trust between and among actors along the value chain particularly hampers climate adaptation.

The study recommends three win-win solutions along the coffee value chain: to improve networking and partnerships among key actors for climate adaptation by strengthening existing platforms and structures at all levels and exploring the role of incentives (e.g., standards); to develop new, flexible financial products to support climate-resilient and inclusive agro-value chains through capacity building and innovative public-private partnerships; and to increase investments in climate-resilient infrastructures such as roads, irrigation systems, storage facilities and telecommunications.

Agriculture is the backbone of the Ugandan economy. Most of it is rain-fed and relies on limited external inputs, making the country very sensitive to climate variability and change.

The impacts of floods and droughts on maize, beans and coffee production already threaten rural livelihoods. Temperatures in Uganda have been steadily increasing since 1960, and climate hazards such as floods and droughts have become more frequent and intense, a trend expected to continue. Ugandan smallholder farmers already know, and in some cases apply, various global best practices to reduce climate risks. But much remains to be done to improve these local responses. Adopting small-scale irrigation, conservation agriculture measures, optimum crop diversification and intercropping techniques, and watershed-scale approaches to crop production could contribute to offsetting the negative impacts of climate change. Further efforts could disseminate culturally acceptable and affordable stress-resistant crop varieties, promote appropriate storage systems, improve road infrastructure and flood control structures, and enhance the role of information and communication technologies for accurate, reliable and timely climate information. Combining local and scientific knowledge for improved local weather forecasts and early-warning systems and for optimum use of agroforestry, for example, could provide innovative and practical solutions.

In this CRiSTAL Stories brief, Julie Karami-Dekens and Sophie Kutegeka document how the application of the Community-Based Risk Screening Tool - Adaptation and Livelihoods (CRiSTAL) framework in Sansaza parish, Eastern Uganda.

This led to the development of a community-driven water gravity flow scheme for irrigation to help people adapt to prolonged dry spells—a trend that may increase in the context of climate change. Other outcomes of the CRiSTAL process include: the development of a common understanding of climate issues, increased cohesion among local actors, and increased support for climate adaptation in the area from external agencies.

This is a meeting report of the Fifth Annual Forum of Developing Country Investment Negotiators, which was co-hosted by the Government of Uganda, the International Institute for Sustainable Development and the South Centre.

The Agenda can be found here (PDF - 476 KB).