- Name: Abel
- Surname: Balongo
- About Me: The presentation of environmental problems in the media was what initially sparked my interest in environmental studies, which led me to study Environmental sciences. I particularly enjoyed Flannery's comprehensive account on global warming in 'The Weather Makers' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Flannery as well as 'Heat, how we can stop the planet burning' by Monbiot http://www.monbiot.com/books/heat/ for its daring propositions on how to cut carbon emissions. In addition, I have been influenced by the global warming politics as argued by Professor Richard Muller http://www.democracynow.org/2012/8/2/climate_skeptic_koch_funded_scientist_richard. The 2011 hunger and famine in Kenya, believed to have been triggered by increasing global warming phenomenon, compounded my interest in understanding climate change science, policy and related legal frameworks.
During my undergraduate studies, I especially enjoyed the practicality and applied learning while studying this course as this greatly helped me to complete external and internal assessments. My college provided a special room for the environmental and climate-based Environmental sciences studies that included units such as; Ecology, endangered species, combating desertification and land degradation, hydro – climatology and Environmental Impact Assessment/Audit.
To understand what working on environmental problems is really like, I devoted several months of internships with the National Environment Management Authority – NEMA http://www.nema.go.ke/; reviewing Environmental Impact Assessments, Audits and strategic assessments reports. These helped me to learn more about the complex management of natural resources and became very interested in methods used in the evaluation of the ecological status of different projects.
Kenya is yet to formulate its climate change policy framework; for instance the process is undergoing. I therefore believe, we need to adopt a very comprehensive strategy to deal with this issue. Such a framework must be anchored upon protection of our vast, but endangered natural resources and indigenous knowledge.
By Abel O. Balongo:
Holds Bachelors degree in Environmental Sciences with a lot of interest in climate change and global warming. 'I firmly believe climate change can be positively used to increase food security and resilience.'
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