Title: The Future of Wetland Management in Uganda: A Review
Authors: Harold Ogwal, Suzan Luyiga (PhD), Wafa Nori (PhD)
Volume: 8
Issue: 9
Pages: 84-96
Publication Date: 2024/09/28
Abstract:
Wetland areas have experienced a global decline of over 35% since the 1970s, with the highest rates occurring in Asia, Africa, and South America. This review focuses on Uganda's wetland status, which has led to 6.7% wetland loss due to encroachment and degradation from natural and anthropogenic activities. This review used a narrative literature review methodology to gather data from peer-reviewed publications on wetlands and legal and policy framework documents. The wetland systems in Uganda are experiencing high population pressure, agricultural encroachment by local communities, political interference, and inefficiencies in wetland management practices. These pressures have disrupted the wetland integrity and led to the continuous shrinkage of spatial coverage. The socioeconomic drivers contributing to the evident wetland degradation in Uganda have been studied largely within the Greater Kampala Metropolitan area. However, the local context of the economic and socio-ecological perspectives of wetland degradation in other parts of Uganda remains poorly documented and understood. Relevant wetland research will contribute to Uganda's development agenda, contributing to the achievement of targets 15.1 and 15.3 of the UN-SDG 15, which focuses on biodiversity conservation. Recommendations include identifying and prioritizing wetland degradation hotspots for conservation and restoration activities, adopting locally based management strategies, and enhancing GIS and remote sensing knowledge for monitoring Uganda's wetland systems. Integrative modeling frameworks and decision-support tools are important research priorities for holistic wetland and water resource management strategies. Standardized protocols and data management frameworks can ensure comparability and interoperability of wetland-water quality data across different sites and regions.