Natural Sciences

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Browsing Natural Sciences by Author "Muramira, Eugene"

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    The Costs Of Environmental Degradation And Loss To Uganda’s Economy With Particular Reference To Poverty Eradication
    (IUCN - The World Conservation Union, Eastern Africa Regional Office, Nairobi., 2002) Moyini, Yakobo; Muramira, Eugene; Emerton, Lucy; Shechambo, Fanuel
    Although Uganda's environment and natural resources (ENR) sectors (including agriculture, forests, wild life, wetlands and others) contribute significantly to the economy, only a portion of their contribution is captured in official statistics. A large part of economic values accruing at local, national and global levels is taken for granted by not being valued in money terms. Official statistics indicate that in 1999 for example, the ENR sector contributed over 90 percent of Uganda's exports and supplied more than 90 percent of Uganda's energy requirements in terms of firewood and charcoal for domestic use. The contribution of the environment to the national economy in Uganda is exemplified by the fact that livelihoods of many Ugandans are intimately tied to the environment both as a source of subsistence household requirements including food and fuel, and as a basis for production. Uganda’s agricultural, art and crafts and mining sectors are directly dependent on the environment and natural resource base. Despite the absence of recent data from labour force surveys in Uganda, the ENR sector is believed to provide gainful informal employment to many Ugandans, particularlyin rural areas. In 1998, it was estimated that 80 percent of the labour force was engaged in agriculture (MFPED,2000a). Since the sector directly supports the livelihoods of many Ugandans, it is an important factor to be taken into account in poverty eradication strategies of the country. The contribution of the ENR sector to the national economy can be categorized into four types of values, namely: Direct use values, Indirect use values, Option values and Existence values. Direct use values of the environment and natural resources are those that are derived by consuming goods and services directly such as timber, building poles, local medicines, wild foods and recreation. Indirect use values, on the other hand, are those values derived by consuming or benefiting from critical ecological life supporting services of environment including protection of watersheds, controlling floods and storms, absorption of carbon dioxide (carbon sequestration) and regulating climate. Option values represent the importance that people attach in not using some resources to meet today’s needs by maintaining/conserving environmental resourcesfor possible future use, directly, indirectly, including uses which may be unknown today, such as cure for diseases like AIDS. The option value is analogous to setting aside a part of one’s income in a saving account for use on a ‘rainy’ day. Lastly, the intrinsic value of environmental resources is the cultural/religious significance of environment and natural resources, irrespective of their use.