Engaging local users in the management of wetland resources: the case of the national wetlands programme, Uganda

Abstract

With an estimated coverage of 13% of Uganda's land surface, wetland ecosystems constitute an important natural resource in this country, both from ecological and from social and economic point of view. In reaction to widespread and uncontrolled drainage of wetlands in the 1960s and 70s, the government of Uganda established the Uganda National Wetlands Programme (NWP) in 1989. The original task of the NWP was to formulate a national policy for the conservation and management of wetlands. From 1993 onwards, the NWP expanded its objectives and operations to include the development and dissemination of principles and methods for sustainable wetland use by local wetland users. This objective has been pursued by supporting a limited number of wetland adjacent communities in the management of small wetland sections. Of recent the emphasis has shifted from collaboration with villages to supporting specific resource user groups. The purpose of this paper is to describe the achievements and setbacks of the National Wetlands Programme in facilitating community management of wetland resources