Dr. Isaac Mugume, an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Geography, Geo-informatics and Climatic Sciences, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) has been named one of twenty one African scientists to receive up to £100,000 each to tackle climate change. The groundbreaking research projects from across Africa have been selected to receive funding from a US$2.5M innovative initiative supporting Africa-led climate science research. Dr. Mugume was conferred upon his PhD during the first session of the 69th Graduation Ceremony of Makerere University on 15th January 2019.

The twenty one projects distributed across four African regions in the west, east, central and south, will each receive up to £100,000 for a period of two years through the Climate Research for Development (CR4D) initiative. CR4D is an African-led initiative supported by partnership between The African Academy of Sciences (The AAS), African Climate Policy Center (ACPC) of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), African Ministerial Conference on Meteorology (AMCOMET), World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS).The initiative seeks to strengthen links between climate science research and climate information needs to support development planning in Africa.

According to the announcement released by The AAS on Tuesday, 4th June 2019, the twenty one grantees, over half of whom are women, were selected from a competitive pool of nearly 200 applicants. The grantees are from a range of climate sensitive sectors, such as forestry, health and food security, economics to better prepare Africa’s people to deal with the impacts of climate change. The grantees will be developed into independent researchers and supported with training, networking and mentoring opportunities to facilitate international collaborations.

The Director, Directorate of Research and Graduate Training (DRGT), Prof. Buyinza Mukadasi who broke the news to the Makerere University community said, “Congratulations Dr. Mugume. You are a rising star that has brought great pride to Makerere. You can count on DRGT's continued support to enable you transition into a research leader of global stature.”

The Head, Department of Geography, Geo-informatics and Climatic Sciences, Assoc. Prof. Yazidhi Bamutaze noted that despite being at an early stage in his academic career, Dr. Mugume has an impeccable scientific record and a very positive attitude, which many members of the Department can attest to.

“He completed his PhD in time and churned out over 6 papers. I am not surprised that he was selected to receive this prestigious grant. We look forward to huge outputs and outcomes from the grant.” added Assoc. Prof. Bamutaze.

Reacting to the award and congratulatory messages, Dr. Mugume said, “Thank you very much for the favourable report. I'm sincerely grateful to colleagues for mentoring me and above all to God for blessing me with the grant. Indeed it was competitive but by God's grace I made it.”

About Dr. Mugume’s project

The project will focus on the implications of the 1.5-2.0 degree Celsius to Uganda climate, agriculture and water nexus and will investigate the probable influence of this temperature limit on crop production and water needs including the influence on rainfall, humidity, winds and cloudiness over Uganda. This study will contribute to the research profile of the department of Geography, Geo-informatics and Climatic Sciences of Makerere University at the same time mentoring and supporting three graduate students carrying out research in areas of agriculture, hydrology, environment and climate among others.

Please visit The AAS website at the link below for details of other CR4D grantees

https://aesa.ac.ke/programmes/cr4d/cr4d-grantees/