Post doc experience on unravelling agro ecological and climatic approaches to understanding restoration of watersheds

Watershed health is key to attainment of sustainable development goals in East and Central Africa. However, their rate of degradation is increasingly alarming in these regions due to land-use/cover changes and poor management. On the other hand, several studies have demonstrated that climate change and variability is setting in and is likely to induce a web of devastating effects if no restoration actions are put in place. Watershed restoration actions will require accurate diagnosis of partial contributions of land-use/cover changes and climate change and variability on watershed health, but also identifying best restoration practices to be promoted in these regions in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper describes experiences of a Postdoctoral Fellow attached to Makerere University in Kampala as the host institution in the College of Agricultural Sciences for mentorship, three (3) PhD students under the RUFORUM Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA) and the Intra African Mobility project plus four (4) Master students. The Post doc Fellow mentored students in research and publishing. The Fellowship attracted a US$60,000 research grant for a time period of 22 months and provided opportunity for multi-disciplinary research, being mentored by senior academicians, being linked to other Fellows across Africa, and gaining experience in mentoring upcoming scientists.