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Item The Relationship Between Solid Waste Management Practices And Sustainable Waste Management In Kitgum Municipality(Gulu University, 2026) Nakitende StellamarisRapid urbanization has led to a significant increase in municipal waste generation, posing environmental and public health challenges. This study focused on examining the relationship between solid waste management practices and sustainable waste management in Kitgum Municipality. The study objectives are; examining the existing solid waste management practices, evaluating the effectiveness of solid waste management practices implemented by Kitgum Municipal council, assessing the relationship between solid waste management practices and sustainable waste management and to determine the best solid waste management practices for sustainable waste management. A cross-sectional survey research design was employed for this study. The study population included the technical staffs, political leaders and household heads. These respondents were selected due to their relevant knowledge and ability to provide valid opinions on the topic. Random sampling technique was used, and a total of 385 questionnaires were administered. The demographic profiles of respondents were presented in tables showing frequency distributions and percentages. Thematic analysis was used for qualitative data to show the impact of current solid waste management practices on environmental cleanliness, health outcomes, and community engagement, providing contextual understanding of the measurable effects identified in the quantitative analysis. The correlation matrix was employed to test the relationship between solid waste management practices and the sustainable management of waste, with a significance level of 0.05. Statistical analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.0. Majority of respondents (68%) reported that comprehensive strategy for control of waste generation and storage existed although, transportation challenges due to insufficient funding (50%) and limited community engagement (66%) hindered its effectiveness. A very strong positive relationship was found between solid waste management practices and the sustainable waste management in Kitgum Municipality, with (p-value = 0.01). Further regression analysis revealed a significant effect of solid waste management practices on sustainable waste management, with (p-value = 0.01). This study concludes that solid waste management practices strongly influence the sustainable waste management. The study emphasizes the need for improved planning and management strategies to enhance sustainability in waste management. Policy-makers and local authorities should adopt best practices, taking a holistic approach that considers environmental, social, and economic factors aligned with sustainable development goals.Item Climate Change Impacts On Smallholder Cotton Farming: Risks, Vunerability, And Adaptation In Kitgum District, Uganda(Gulu University, 2026) Aneno Irene ApwoyochanClimate change presents a significant global problem that greatly affects agriculture, especially in developing countries impacting small-scale farmers. This study focused on assessing the impact of climate change on smallholder cotton farmers’ risks, adaptation strategies, and vulnerability in Kitgum District, Northern Uganda. The study was conducted using a descriptive case study design involving qualitative and quantitative research approaches targeting 291 respondents including smallholder cotton farmers, government officials and Non-Governmental Organization. The study analyzed 188 fully filled household semi-structured questionnaires using SPSS, Pearson correlation coefficient and thematic analysis and (i) determined the perception of farmers to climate change risk, (ii) assessed coping mechanisms and (iii) identified factors that influence their vulnerability. Content analysis was used to analyze data of 7 key informant and 1 focus group discussion. The results indicate that farmers perceive erratic rainfall (70%) and increased temperatures (65%), as significant climate change risks. To adapt, they employ strategies such as crop diversification (60%) and using drought-resistant varieties (50%). Factors influencing vulnerability majorly include limited access to financial resources (75%), lack of climate information (68%). However, the challenges faced by farmers show weaker but still significant correlations with both community impacts (r=.240, p<.01) and adaptation hindrances (r=.226, p<.01), indicating that perceived problems align with actual climate vulnerabilities. In conclusion, smallholder cotton farmers are acutely aware of changing weather patterns, notably rainfall unpredictability, which they perceive regularly. Additionally, climate change is no longer a myth but a reality being experienced by smallholder farmers impacting on their farming activities and livelihood. My study recommends adoption of integrated approaches that advance access to both drought-resistant seed, financial resources and irrigation farming to ensure sustainable agricultural practices to strengthen resilience against climate change impacts.Item AN ASSESSMENT OF METEOROLOGICAL DROUGHT AND ITS EFFECTS ON MAIZE YIELDS IN PALABEK OGILI SUB COUNTY, LAMWO DISTRICT(Gulu University, 2025-11) ACIRO, FLORENCEGlobally, droughts have continued to be a major threat to agricultural production. This study examined the effects of meteorological drought on maize yields in Palabek Ogili Sub County, Lamwo District, with a focus on drought severity, intensity, and duration which affect output.By assessing historical climate data base alongside maize yield performance, the researcher seeks to identify the effects of drought on maize yields and offer insights into potential adaptation strategies to drought. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, combining quantitative data from 302 structured questionnaires and qualitative insights from key informant interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed using Standardized Precipitation index, Pearson’s correlation coefficient and descriptive statistics. Whereas qualitative data were analyzed using Thematic analysis. The analysis revealed a strong positive correlation between drought severity and reduced maize yields (r = 0.692, p = 0.01), a moderate positive correlation for drought intensity (r = 0.621, p = 0.01), and a weaker but significant correlation for drought duration (r = 0.366, p = 0.01), indicating that all aspects of drought negatively affect maize productivity, with severity being the most influential. The qualitative analysis showed limited access to timely weather information, low use of modern adaptation techniques, and reliance on traditional adaptation strategies are the major challenges to adapting to drought. The study concludes that meteorological drought significantly reduces maize yields while farmer access to accurate climate data, drought-tolerant maize varieties, and farmer training improve on adaptation to drought. It recommends strengthening partnerships among farmers,meteorological services, and agricultural officers, as well as scaling up climate-smart agriculture to boost resilience and protect food security in Palabek Ogili sub county, Lamwo district.Item Urban Resilience to Climate Change Shocks and Stresses in Mbale Municipality in Uganda(2019) Oriangi,GeorgeClimate change shocks and stresses are expected to increasingly affect urban areas in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA). However, there remain gaps in understanding local precipitation extremes and influential factors that can enhance urban resilience. This study synthesized determinants of urban resilience, investigated historic and projected precipitation extremes up to the year 2050. Also assessed were factors perceived to enhance resilience. These factors informed the proposed Municipality Resilience Index (MRI) which was tested to assess the resilience index of Mbale municipality. The study employed cross sectional survey and some elements of grounded theory and fixed qualitative research designs. A compendium of methods was used to realize the formulated objectives. To synthesize determinants of urban resilience, a review of literature was undertaken and subjected to summative thematic content analysis. To investigate precipitation extremes, historic data for 32 years was obtained from Uganda National Meteorology Authority (UNMA) while for future climate, modelled data was used. Climate data was fitted in a Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) to compute precipitation extremes. To assess factors perceived to be influential in enhancing household resilience, 389 structured household interviews coupled with nine group interviews were undertaken. Household data was subjected to linear regression analysis to generate relationships while normalization, principle component analysis and summations were used to generate a resilience index. Group interview data was subjected to summative thematic content analysis to derive perceptions on priority resilience factors. Findings revealed that access to basic services, social networks, employment and ownership of productive assets were the most reported determinants of resilience in cities of SSA, with climate related shocks and stresses being the most eminent. SPI results revealed more extremely wet and dry periods in 2004-2014 as compared to 1982-1992 and 1993-2003 with extremely wet periods concentrated in September to January. Household perceptions supported this finding, emphasizing that dry periods have become frequent, hotter and longer, in addition to heavy precipitation periods. Modelled data indicated a likelihood of more extremely wet periods during 2021-2030 and 2031-2040 as compared to 2041-2050. Furthermore, future predictions generally predicted more extremely dry periods during 2031-2040 and 2041-2050 as compared to 2021-2030. These threaten to pause risks to the community of Mbale. Regression results showed that the ability of a household to meet its daily expenditure, household size and networks with relatives and NGOs had significant effects on resilience capacities. Most importantly, knowledge that even the lowest income households were substantially more likely to prepare for and recover from climate induced hazards if they are able to meet their daily expenditure needs was valuable particularly in this context, as the poorest population is generally most vulnerable. Summative thematic content analysis 13 revealed that education, healthcare, employment, peace and security were perceived as the most crucial resilience factors. Although the community perceived to have progressed in accessing credit, building productive farms and sustaining peace and security, but they assessed a lack of diverse income generating activities, access to insurance, food security, employment and quality health care. Moreover, more marginalized parts of the municipality were experiencing decreasing resilience while other divisions have increased in resilience. The most crucial resilience factors informed the proposed multidimensional MRI that constituted of 46 variables explaining the physical, social, economic and institutional dimensions. When the MRI was tested, findings revealed that Mbale municipality has a low resilience index (0.2). The study concluded that future work needs to continue utilizing a multidimensional approach to understand location-specific determinants of household resilience in municipalities given their growing role in the strong urban growth trajectory projected over the next decades. Practitioners and disaster risk reduction policies need to promote: small household size, activities that can boost household ability to meet their daily expenditure needs and social networks that shape household resilience to enhance preparedness, recovery and adaptation. Additionally, policies need to continue focusing on: access to insurance, food security, creating more employment opportunities and provision of quality health care to enhance household resilience. Furthermore, Mbale municipality local government needs to redirect more resources to parts of the municipality with the least resilience index to enhance household resilience.