The universities of Padua and Kampala come together for the environment and sustainable development
15.03.2023
Strengthening the cooperative relationship with Africa for the environment and sustainable development, the Vice Chancellor of Unganda’s Makerere University in Kampala, Prof Barnabas Nawangwe met with University of Padua’s Vice-Rector for International Relations Cristina Basso and Advisor for Africa Piergiorgio Sonato in Padua on 7 March. Visiting from the oldest and most prestigious university in Uganda, Prof Nawangwe’s arrival marks his second mission to Padua in two years.
The purpose of this mission was to discuss various topics including the extension of disciplinary fields within the current set of scientific collaborations of medicine and statistics, and the creation of new joint degrees with a focus on joint supervision for doctorate degrees.
The universities come together for the environment and sustainable development to protect the Moroto District located in the Karamoja region of Uganda, which is considered vital from a naturalistic and cultural point of view, subject to deforestation, poaching, and illegal mining activities in recent years. Under its current situation, the area is at risk for destabilization, including the sacred Moroto mountains region, which has witnessed growing violent outbreaks in recent years.
Responding to an appeal from Pierluigi Rossanigo from the Catholic Diocese of Moroto for health services and a former CUAMM physician a group of University of Padua professors and experts have been focused on nominating Mount Moroto as a biosphere reserve as part of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) since 2017. The MAB programme, which currently counts 738 sites in 134 countries worldwide, aims to establish a scientific basis for enhancing the relationship between people and their environments. It combines the natural and social sciences with a view to improving human livelihoods and safeguarding natural and managed ecosystems, thus promoting innovative approaches to economic development that are socially and culturally appropriate and environmentally sustainable.
Vice Chancellor Nawangwe shares his thoughts with Il Bo Live, “I am delighted to be back in Padua. Collaborating with one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the world is no small feat. For us, protecting the environment is quite important. The great lake region in the Moroto District is particularly affected but the consequences of global warming. Working alongside scientists to protect Lake Victoria and other ecosystems in this delicate region is of utmost importance for Uganda.”
