Browsing by Author "Yikii, F."

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    Awareness, perceptions and implementation of policy and legal provisions on wetlands in Uganda
    (African Journal of Rural Development (AFJRD), 2017) Turyahabwe, N.; Tumusiime, D. M.; Yikii, F.; Kakuru, W.; Barugahare, V.
    Wetland degradation is currently a major global environmental challenge. In Uganda, the situation is similar despite the country’s relatively long history of wetland policy and legislation. This study was carried out after over two decades since the onset of an ambitious national wetlands programme to examine local awareness and perceptions wetlands policy and legislation. It was conducted on the basis that understanding of the opinions and attitudes of farmers and other wetland users regarding wetland policies and regulations helps managers and policy makers in making informed decisions for sustainable wetland management. Semi-structured interviews conducted with 222 randomly selected households resident within a 5 km radius of the sampled wetlands were augmented by three Focus Group Discussions and 40 key informant interviews. More than half of the respondents (64%) were aware of the national wetlands management and conservation policy, with 32% expressly suggesting that the provisions in the National Environment Act are sufficient to support sustainable use of wetlands while only 6% expressed knowledge of informal or traditional rules and regulations for use of wetlands. Regression results revealed that education and income status significantly influenced respondents awareness of the wetland policy and provisions in other formal policies and laws. Residents of both Lake Victoria Crescent and South western farm lands were significantly (p<0.05) more likely to be aware of provisions in other formal policies and laws, owing to sensitisation by conservation projects based in these localities and having operational Community-based Wetland Management Plan. Majority (77%) of respondents expressed that the policies and legal provisions on wetlands were not adequately enforced and nearly 90% of the respondents perceived a need for locally tailored by-laws and ordinances and an improvement in communication of information about wetland policy. Irrespective of improvement in awareness of the wetland policy and legislation in Uganda, enforcement is likely to remain poor due to limited livelihood options for local people as they use wetlands for food security and livelihood improvement. Local communities also claim ignorance of wetland policy, regulations and laws that they do not agree with, given the sensitivity of use and management of wetland resources. Successful conservation of wetlands will thus depend on implementation of acknowledged policy and legal provisions coupled with the crafting and creation of awareness of locally tailored policies, by- laws and ordinances on wetlands.
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    Household perception of climate change in wetland adjacent areas in Uganda
    (Uganda Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 2016) Yikii, F.; Bashaasha, B.; Turyahabwe, N.
    Climate change is a major cause of food insecurity in developing countries, like Uganda where the poor people and small scale farmers have limited options for adaptation. Households adjacent to wetlands often adapt to climate change by depending on them for food security. However, interventions for climate change adaptation in developing countries are often poorly targeted due to insufficient data on climate trends. The objective of this study was to determine household perception of climate change in wetland adjacent areas, to inform climate change and adaptation policy in Uganda. The study was conducted at two sites, Lake Nakivale wetland system in Isingiro district (south-western Uganda) and Lake Kyoga basin wetland systems in Pallisa district (eastern Uganda). The study employed a cross sectional design, using a semi-structured questionnaire, and surveyed a total of 520 households. Results of the study show that a majority (92%) of the households were aware of climate change. Climate change was perceived by households in form of prolonged dry weather (54%) and hotter and drier seasons (34%). Over 90% of the respondents had noticed climate change in various forms: increased temperature (92%), decreased rainfall (95%), changes in the length of seasons (97%), more frequent droughts (93%), more severe droughts (92%) and more severe floods in Pallisa. Households perceived climate change in the form of increased temperatures and droughts, and generally had a gloomy outlook for the future, insisting that climate change will be more severe than currently experienced. More households in Isingiro district perceived climate change to be more severe in the future than expected (c2 (2) =43.67, P<0.001). Owing to the perception of more frequent and severe droughts and reduced rainfall, households around wetlands will continue to use wetlands for farming and other livelihood needs. Thus, unless wetland farmers (a) integrate wetland conservation by employing climate smart practices like minimum tillage, soil and water conservation, and (b) diversify their livelihoods through commercially viable initiatives like fish farming, household food security and sustainability of wetlands will be further jeopardized.