Wetland Restoration Dilemma in Uganda: Investigation of Alternative Livelihood Options for Restoring Limoto Wetland in Eastern Uganda
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47672/ajes.1462Keywords:
Livelihood, Wetland Degradation, Wetland RestorationAbstract
Purpose: Motion 145 adopted by the 5th IUCN World Conservation Congress in 2012, called for an evaluation of alternative livelihood programs' contributions to biodiversity conservation. And since then, alternative livelihood opportunities are employed globally as a way to protect biodiversity, notably for wetlands. This study aims to advance the evaluation of alternative livelihood options' effects on biodiversity. The objective of the study is to describe the effectiveness of alternative livelihood options in the restoration of the Limoto wetland.
Methodology: A cross-sectional research design was adopted. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected using Focus Group Discussions (FGD) and interviews. FGDs were conducted with five groups of beneficiaries of livelihoods options. Interviews were carried out with seven key informants who were considered to be knowledgeable about the wetland restoration alternative livelihood options. These included village local council chairpersons from communities near the wetland, opinion leaders, district natural resources officers, IUCN Representative, NEMA official and wetland department.
Findings: The study revealed that the livelihood options initiated for Limoto wetland restoration were ineffective and unsustainable. While, the study further revealed that the wetland restoration program had led to food shortages due to loss of wetland farmland. The study findings showed that re-encroachment was substantially due to a lack of perceived relevance and dissatisfaction with the alternative livelihood options.
Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study concludes that wetland re-encroachment is caused by the beneficiaries' dissatisfaction of the alternative livelihood options introduced. Therefore, the study recommends the alternative livelihood options be determined using a co-creating design, where the communities are involved and this is in accordance with National Environment Act No.5, 2019 Uganda.
Downloads
References
An, S., & Verhoeven, J.T.A. (2019). Wetlands: Ecosystem Services, Restoration and Wise Use (Vol. 238). http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-030-14861-4.
Barakagira, A., & de Wit, A.H. (2017). Community livelihood activities as key determinants for community based conservation of wetlands in Uganda. Environmental & Socio-Economic Studies, 5(1), 11-24. https://doi.org/10.1515/environ-2017-0002.
Boyce, C., & Palena, N. (2006). Conducting In-Depth Interviews: A Guide for Designing and Conducting In-Depth Interviews for Evaluation Input. Watertown: Pathfinder International. EriÅŸim Adresi, 19(09), 2016.
Bunyangha, J., Muthumbi, A. W. N., Egeru, A., Asiimwe, R., Ulwodi, D. W., Gichuki, N. N., & Majaliwa, M. J. G. (2022). Preferred Attributes for Sustainable Wetland Management in Mpologoma Catchment, Uganda: A Discrete Choice Experiment. Land, 11(7), 962. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11070962.
GCF. (2015). Building Resilient Communities and Ecosystems through Restoration of Wetlands and Associated Catchments. In Green Climate Fund Funding Proposal: Vol. Annex II.
Kakuba, S. J., & Kanyamurwa, J. M. (2021). Management of wetlands and livelihood opportunities in Kinawataka wetland, Kampala-Uganda. Environmental Challenges, 2, 100021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envc.2020.100021.
Mahulu, A., Lugelo, A., Mtoka, S., & Ngongolo, K. (2019). Conservation Education, Alternative Livelihood and Habitat Restoration: The Best Strategies for Conservation of Magombera Forest Reserve. Asian Journal of Environment & Ecology, August, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.9734/ajee/2019/v9i430104.
Marambanyika, T., Mupfiga, U. N., Musasa, T., Ngwenya, K., Thondhlana, G., Ruwanza, S., Davoren, E., Rosell, S., Belgrano, A., Lindborg, R., Shackleton, C., Findlay, K., & Gambiza, J. (2021). Local perceptions on the impact of drought on Wetland Ecosystem services and associated household livelihood benefits: the case of the Driefontein Ramsar Site in. Mdpi.Com. https://doi.org/10.3390/land10060587.
Meng, B., Liu, J. ling, Bao, K., & Sun, B. (2020). Methodologies and Management Framework for Restoration of Wetland Hydrologic Connectivity: A Synthesis. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, 16(4), 438-451. https://doi.org/10.1002/ieam.4256.
Ministry of Water and Environment. (2019). State of Wetlands Report for Uganda.
Mombo, F. (2017). Conservation and livelihoods: where do we strike a balance to sustain the Wetlands in the Kilombero Valley? http://suaire.suanet.ac.tz/handle/123456789/2520.
NEMA. (2017). Annual Performance Report for 2016/2017.
Roe, D., Booker, F., Day, M., Zhou, W., Allebone-Webb, S., Hill, N. A. O., Kumpel, N., Petrokofsky, G., Redford, K., Russell, D., Shepherd, G., Wright, J., & Sunderland, T. C. H. (2015). Are alternative livelihood projects effective at reducing local threats to specified elements of biodiversity and/or improving or maintaining the conservation status of those elements? Environmental Evidence, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/S13750-015-0048-1.
Sakataka, W. (Mount K. U., & Namisiko, P. (Mount K. U. (2014). Livelihood Activities that Impact on Sustainable Wetland use in Upper Nzoia River Basin, Kenya. Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development, 5(20), 70-83.
Silva, C. N. (2008). Catherine Marshall & Gretchen B. Rossman (2006). Designing Qualitative Research. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 9(3).
Silverman, D. (2013). Doing qualitative research: A practical handbook. Sage.
Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), (2020). Uganda Annual Agricultural Survey 2018. Kampala, Uganda; UBOS.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (2016). Wetlands atlas Uganda.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (2019). Annual Performance Report for Building Resilient Communities, Wetland Ecosystems and Associated Catchments in Uganda.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (2020). 2019 Annual Performance Report Tables. February 2020, 1-32. https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/publication/2019-annual-performance-report-tables.
Vliet, N. van. (2011). Livelihood alternatives for the unsustainable use of bushmeat. In CBD Bushmeat Liaison Group (Vol. 60, Issue 60).
Waswa, A., & Satognon, F. (2020). Development and the Environment: Overview of the Development Planning Process in Agricultural Sector, in Uganda. Journal of Sustainable Development, 13(6), 1. https://doi.org/10.5539/jsd.v13n6p1.
Zhou, C., Sabat, A., & Shoaib, M. (2010). Practical Research P L A N N I N G A N D D E S I G N.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 John Kameri Ochoko, Suzan Luyiga, Bernad Barasa
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
