Sustainable Management and Conservation of Wetland Resources in Uganda: A Review

Abstract

Wetlands cover 30,105 km2 of Uganda’s total land area of 241,500km2. With the coverage of 13% of the total land area, they represent one of the most vital ecological and economic resources the country is endowed with. Unfortunately their importance is associated only with the direct consumptive use value like crop cultivation, human settlement and extraction of useful materials. The essential life support processes for example stabilization of hydrological cycle and microclimates, protection of riverbanks, nutrient and toxin retention and, sewage treatment are the least recognized. Destruction of these ecosystems is a serious environmental problem the country is currently faced with. The problem has reached alarming levels in Eastern Uganda where about 20% of wetlands have been destroyed. The underlying cause of this destruction is the insatiable desire of the poverty stricken population to derive livelihood from the wetlands. Some evident impacts of wetland destruction include adverse local climate modification which has contributed to 2-meter drop in River Nile and Lake Victoria water levels.

The other impacts are seasonal flooding and destruction of biodiversity and associated ecological processes. In attempt to address the problem, fairly comprehensive wetland legislation comprising the National Wetlands Policy 1995, the National Environment Statute 1995, the National Guidelines for Wetland Resource Developers 1995, and the National Environment Regulations 2000 (wetlands, River Banks and Lake Shore Management) have been put in place. The government has also established a national wetland inspection division to specifically deal with wetland management. Internationally, Uganda ratified the Ramsar Convention and has designated two internationally recognized wetlands as Ramsar Sites and in November 2005 Uganda hosted the 9th Ramsar Conference on wetlands. However, implementation of these measures is still at infant stages and is faced with many challenges like inadequate funding, political interference and limited awareness of the population on the existing wetland legislation and multivariate value of wetlands especially the ecological ones. Sensitization and educational programs to empower local communities with knowledge and awareness particularly on the ecological roles of wetlands need to be scaled up to influence a positive shift of attitude and practices towards these ecosystems.