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Please be aware that the content herein has not been peer reviewed. It consists of personal reflections, insights, and learnings of the contributor(s). It may not be exhaustive, nor does it aim to be authoritative knowledge.
Title
Please provide a name for your action learning plan.
Tackling flooding in Kampala city especially the high-density neighborhoods/slum areas
Challenge statement
Challenge type: If you are working on multiple challenges, please indicate if this is your "big bet" or "exploratory" challenge.
Please note: we ask you to only submit a maximum of 3 challenges - 1x Big Bet, 2x Exploratory. Each challenge must be submitted individually.
EXPLORATORY
Challenge statement: What is your challenge? (Please answer in specific terms: "Our challenge is that...”.)
Our challenge is that for the past couple of years, Uganda has faced heavy rainfall during the rainy season and sometimes during what is conventionally the dry season. As a result of this, there is heavy flooding in Kampala city especially the high-density neighborhoods/slum areas leading to loss of property, diseases and even death.
Background: What is the history of your challenge? What is causing or driving it? Who is involved? How does the current situation look like? What undesired effects does it produce?
Over the years, Uganda like the rest of the World has been experiencing erratic alternate drought and high rainfall seasons, which is a manifestation of Climate Change. Climate Change manifests in many ways including extreme heat conditions (heat waves), above normal rainfall which causes floods, melting glaciers, raising water levels.
Whenever it is a rainy season and there's a heavy down pour, Kampala City floods and destroys property, infrastructure like roads become impassable. The mostly affected areas are the high-density neighbourhoods and slums.
In the recent reports for both the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) indicate that the black spots for floods in the entire Kampala metropolitan suburbs are Kyambogo on Jinja Road, Electoral Commission, Clock Tower, Makerere Kavule, Bwaise, Nalukolongo, Ndeeba, Katwe and Namasuba.
They attribute floods in Kampala to both natural and man-made causes. The natural causes include heavy rains, low-lying and flat terrain and underlying clayey soil of poor water infiltration. While the man-made causes include encroachers' developments such as buildings and cultivation in the drainage or wetland areas. Other man-made causes of floods have been identified as undersized and blocked drainage channels because of poor waste management.
Floods have had an impact on several areas of Kampala. There has occurred damage to property and Infrastructure such as buildings, roads, and others. Also, contamination of drinking water from springs, wells and leaking pipes has occured resulting into disease outbreaks such as cholera, dysentery, typhoid and diarrhea, mainly in the densely populated and poorly planned settlements.
Stagnant water pools near Bwaise and Kalerwe areas have developed into breeding grounds for mosquitoes which spread malaria. On some flood events, some people have lost their lives by drowning in the stagnant water pools, in situations where buildings and roads have flooded, business and traffic have been overwhelmingly disrupted. Engineers and environmentalists need to check the quality of designs, construction, and environmental aspects of the drainage channels.
Kampala is surrounded by channels such as Nakivubo, Lubigi, Nalukolongo, Kinawataka, Nyanama-Walufumbe and Kansanga. The functionality of this drainage system is limited because of its poor condition and lack of adequate maintenance.
In conclusion, Kampala flood problem needs to be tackled as soon as possible and this gives the Accelerator Lab the opportunity to present it as a frontier challenge focusing this initial phase of the intervention on one of the mentioned prone areas which is Makerere Kavule.
Quantitative evidence: What (official) data sources do you have on this challenge that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge? You can add text, a link, or a picture.
In the recent forecast from the Uganda National Meteorological Authority (UNMA), indicate that in the months of March, April and May, the Central Region and the Lake. Victoria basin will receive near normal (near average) to above normal (enhanced) rainfall. as per the attached communique.
Qualitative evidence: What weak signals have you recently spotted that characterizes its urgency? Please provide qualitative information that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge. You can add text, a link, or a picture.
The weak signals that we have identified recently is that even after the warning from the weather forecasters on the heavy rainfall, the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) says that their budget to provide maintenance to communities was cut and therefore, there is not much to do. Already, the media reports the loss of lives in the floods and property in the recent down pour.
https://www.kfm.co.ug/news/kcca-decries-budget-reduction-for-2022-2023.html
Value proposition: What added value or unique value proposition is your Accelerator Lab bringing to solving this challenge? Why is it your Lab that needs to work on this challenge and not other actors within UNDP, other stakeholders in the country respectively? Why is it worth investing resources to this challenge?
By enabling/empowering communities and leadership structures within in designing low-cost resilient drainage systems in Makerere Kavule, will help overcome the impact of floods on their livelihoods (loss of lives, property, and diseases)
Short “tweet” summary: We would like to tweet what you are working on, can you summarize your challenge in a maximum of 280 characters?
Applying Collective Intelligence methodologies to engage Communities in the control of floods and related effects in Uganda’s informal settlements
Partners
Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.
Please state the name of the Parter:
National Environment Management Authority (NEMA)
What sector does our partner belong to?
Government (&related)
Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.
We are working with NEMA to offer the technical support the sensitization of the the communities on the impact of environmental degradation. Help to identify solutions that are applicable in the area given that Makerere Kavule Area is a community that is settled in a water catchment.
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
No
Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.
Please state the name of the Parter:
Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA)
What sector does our partner belong to?
Government (&related)
Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.
KCCA is mandated to offer decent settlements to the residents of Kampala and they help us in identifying proper ways of waste management in such a crowded community.
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
No
Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.
Please state the name of the Parter:
Buganda Land Board
What sector does our partner belong to?
Private Sector
Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.
Buganda Land Board is an institution that belongs to the cultural organ called the Buganda Kingdom. The Buganda Land Board is responsible for all the land in the Buganda Kingdom. They will help in the land surveying to guide the construction of the small drainage tributaries that connect to the main drainage channel.
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
Yes
Learning questions
Learning question: What is your learning question for this challenge? What do you need to know or understand to work on your challenge statement?
1. Will having the right data allow for better flood resilient systems to be designed?
2. Will tapping into collective intelligence of the most affected communities enable design of better flood resilient solutions?
To what stage(s) in the learning cycle does your learning question relate?
Explore
Usage of methods: Relating to your choice above, how will you use your methods & tools for this learning question? What value do these add in answering your learning question?
COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE DESIGN STUDIO
UGANDA
CLIMATE PROBLEM
Our challenge is that for the past couple of years, Uganda has faced heavy rainfall during the rainy season and sometimes during what is conventionally the dry season. As a result of this, there is heavy flooding in Kampala city especially the high-density neighborhoods/slum areas leading to loss of property, diseases and even death.
PRIORITISED STAKEHOLDERS
1. Households in slum areas particularly Makerere Kavule
2. Local leadership structures within the slum areas
HOW COMMUNITIES ARE AFFECTED
1. Destruction of Houses, personal items, roads drainage system
2. Spread of diseases like cholera and malaria
3. Death
VALUE PROPOSITION
By enabling/empowering communities and leadership structures within in designing low-cost resilient drainage systems in Makerere Kavule, it will help overcome the impact of floods on their livelihoods (loss of lives, property, and diseases)
Existing data gaps: Relating to your choice above, what existing gaps in data or information do these new sources of data addressing? What value do these add in answering your learning question?
We chose to use open data, mobile phone data and geospatial data to help us map the geographical area of the community to identify suitable locations for the construction of the the small drainage tributaries that connect to the main drainage channel. They will also help in the identification of appropriate sites for waste disposal as well as other solutions to this problem.
Closing
Early leads to grow: Think about the possible grow phase for this challenge - who might benefit from your work on this challenge or who might be the champions in your country that you should inform or collaborate with early on to help you grow this challenge?
We are working with our Nature, Climate, and Energy Resilience (NCER) and we intend to develop another programme from the lessons learned from this cycle.
END OF ACTION LEARNING PLAN: Thank you! The form saves automatically and your submission has been recorded. You may now exit this window.
3Good health and well-being
11Sustainable cities and communities
12Responsible consumption and production
13Climate action
15Life on land
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