Environmental Chemistry for Sustainable Development

East Africa faces serious environmental challenges in relation to pollution. The overall objective of this project is to increase the capacity and contribution of environmental chemistry research in higher education in order to address the local and global priority needs in improving water quality and advancement of remediation technologies. The project intends to train graduate researchers (PhD and MSc) with more emphasis on females so as to ensure gender equality amongst students and staff in Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology in the East African Universities (Makerere University, Kyambogo University, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology). Currently, the ratio of male: female academic staff in Chemistry in East Africa is still very low (approximately 5:1). This would increase the number of trained environmental chemists in E. Africa. The project will contribute to institutional, regional and international networking in teaching and research through sharing the available infrastructure and resources. We also intend to realign curricular in Environmental Chemistry in the patterning institutions in E. Africa. We will train the local community, Environmental Safety and Occupational officers on the dangers of environmental pollution and their mitigation strategies. Publications, patents and policy briefs arising from research results will form important baseline for new knowledge and/or technologies to be adopted. The research team seeks to develop low-cost and environmentally friendly clean-up methods using locally available plant materials such as Moringa oleifera and Eichhornia crassipes for removal of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) from wastewater. Also, aquatic ecosystems such as Lake Victoria have been reported as endpoints to plastics of all sizes, including microplastics. Studies on the extent of microplastics pollution in freshwaters such as Lake Victoria and River Nile are limited; there is need to investigate the seasonal fluxes, sources and trophic transfer of microplastics within the aquatic ecosystem of Lake Victoria and River Nile. Furthermore, Petroleum exploration and production activities have been carried out in the Albertine Graben which leads to accidental oil spills. The consortium seeks to develop efficient remediation technologies for crude oil contaminated soil and water of the Albertine graben on a field scale.