Most people think of climate change as an enormous issue that can only be addressed on a global level. How can small grants of $500 or even $5,000 make a difference to such a monumental challenge?
We believe local action through small grants can make a big difference. Since 2000, Greengrants has given well over $1 million dollars to hundreds of organizations working on climate change in every corner of the globe.
As the stories of these groups indicate, although the issue of climate change is global, the methods of attacking it are as unique as the peoples and local environments that it will so drastically affect. We believe, as is the case with nearly every other environmental issue, that long-lasting solutions will have to include those who will be most affected. We hope you are inspired, as we are, by their efforts.
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National Association of Professional Environmentalists, Uganda
While dams are often seen as a source of energy that does not contribute to climate change, the truth is that they can pollute the air even more than a power plant that runs on fossil fuels. The reservoirs created by dams often submerge a vast amount of plant life that, as it decays, produces methane – a greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide. The result: in certain locations the emissions of dams can generate over three times more greenhouse gases than an oil-burning plant producing the same amount of electricity.
Bujagali Falls Dam is a 200-megawatt hydropower project proposed for Bujagali Falls on the Nile River near Jinja, Uganda. Although the original sponsor, a United States-based energy company named AES, has backed out, the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation and the African Development Bank have pledged financial support for the project.
With funding from Greengrants, the National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE) in Uganda has played an important role in raising questions about the dam. The group successfully opened up public debate on an issue that was considered a “done deal.” By educating and empowering the Ugandan people to become involved in environmental issues and assert their rights and concerns, they have been able to raise serious questions about the project, leading to greatly increased public awareness of the environmental and social impacts of large dams. NAPE continues to work to mitigate the negative impacts of the Bujagali Dam.