Tsetse invasion in Karamoja, Uganda: An Emerging Threat to Socioecological Resilience
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Date
2018
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AirFood
Abstract
Over 70% of Uganda is infested by tsetse with negative
effects on human and livestock health. From colonial to
post-independent Uganda, the Government of Uganda
has strived to eradicate the tsetse menace through various
interventions but it is still a threat following reemergence in
some areas and the expansion of the tsetse belt. The tsetse
challenge had been brought under control in Karamoja subregion
in the 1960s eradication effort. However, in the recent
past, veterinary reports have indicated tsetse reinvasion
estimated at 10 percent prevalence. Tsetse reinvasion of the
sub-region represents an additional challenge to the already
vulnerable pastoral communities interfacing with a range
of constraints including extreme weather events such as
drought. The reinvasion has considerable influence on the
social-ecological resilience of communities. Participatory
assessment reports indicate that tsetse has led to livestock deaths and heightened human-wildlife conflicts owing to the
perceived spread by elephants and buffalos that emerge from
the Kidepo Valley National Park. Further, livestock abortions
among donkeys, goats, sheep and cattle have been reported,
decreased milk yield and interference on grazing in the
prime grazing lands, and migrations across to Kenya. It is
also alluded that women’s labour input into crop production
has decreased as the tsetse prevalence is high in some of
the most fertile lands yet the women often move with young
children to the gardens. These effects are a direct affront on
the social-ecological resilience of the pastoral communities
in the sub-region as they weaken communities’ adaptive
capacity. Cognizant of the potential transboundary character
of the tsetse reinvasion sources in Karamoja, an urgent,
strategic and system wide intervention should be undertaken
in the sub-region.
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Citation
Egeru, A. Tsetse invasion in Karamoja, Uganda: An Emerging Threat to Socioecological Resilience.
URI
Over 70% of Uganda is infested by tsetse with negative effects on human and livestock health. From colonial to post-independent Uganda, the Government of Uganda has strived to eradicate the tsetse menace through various interventions but it is still a threat following reemergence in some areas and the expansion of the tsetse belt. The tsetse challenge had been brought under control in Karamoja subregion in the 1960s eradication effort. However, in the recent past, veterinary reports have indicated tsetse reinvasion estimated at 10 percent prevalence. Tsetse reinvasion of the sub-region represents an additional challenge to the already vulnerable pastoral communities interfacing with a range of constraints including extreme weather events such as drought. The reinvasion has considerable influence on the social-ecological resilience of communities. Participatory assessment reports indicate that tsetse has led to livestock
https://nru.uncst.go.ug/handle/123456789/4952
https://nru.uncst.go.ug/handle/123456789/4952