Promoting Improved Stoves as an alternative of natural resource management

The protection of environment and preservation of natural resources is becoming more and more worrying for most of the population who feel its effects. This population, which mainly lives from agriculture, confirms that the effects of climate change continue to negatively impact the agricultural sector which was already fragile.

In recent years, efforts made in communities to face climate change have been increased by stakeholders in order to mitigate the effects. The Anglican Community Development Service is among these actors who are contributing to support community initiatives.

Several hundreds of people participate in programs to strengthen community resilience, mainly in the areas of agriculture and environmental protection. Community participation begins with building the capacity of community members to facilitate their access to information related to capacity building, good resource management and coping mechanisms.

In the area of ​​environmental protection and natural resource management, the community has undertaken initiatives aimed to reduce the effects of climate degradation. Community members involved in projects supported by SADC and its partners participate each year in the development of nurseries which generate hundreds of thousands of trees to reforest public and private properties.

In the establishment of adaptation mechanisms for resource management and environmental protection, SADC collaborates with members of the community of Rutana Province in the Mpingakayove and Musongati communes in the South-East of the Country to initiate the use of Improved stoves with the purpose of reducing the number of trees cut which has already had a negative impact on the life of the population by causing in particular the erosion which washes away crops every year.

According to Nijimbere Annonciate, one of participants to the program of environmental protection and natural resource management program, trees present an important resource for all the population, particularly women, because trees constitute the main source of energy in the households. Sometimes the lack of fire woods destabilizes family relationship, especially when woman takes time to find firewood, which leads some men to accuse their wives for having bad behavior. She continues by saying that all initiatives aimed at protecting the environment and good management of resources also protect women because they are the first victims of the consequences of climate change.

SADC has supported community solidarity groups over with five 1500 of improved stoves to reduce their impact on forests and reforested lands.