Verneområder og lokalbefolkning i Uganda : nytte, kostnader, livsvilkår og narrativer rundt Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

This thesis contributes to a current debate on how to balance conservation and development goals. Globally, land set aside for the protection of biodiversity has increased exponentially over the last 30 years. Despite contemporary efforts to share protected area (PA) benefits with the local people in proximity to the PAs, in particular tourism revenues, the social impacts of establishing and maintaining these areas remain a contentious issue. It is in this context that this study was conducted at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda. The specific research questions of the study were: i. To what extent does tourism revenue-sharing promote conservation and poverty reduction? ii. What is the nature of benefits derived and costs incurred by communities adjacent to the PA? iii. How are the benefits and costs distributed, and how does this affect people‟s attitudes towards the PA? iv. How do local people describe their situation as neighbours of a PA? These questions have been addressed in four separate, but interrelated studies. Data were collected using a mixed methods approach. Secondary data in the form of written sources on Bwindi was used in addition to primary data gathered through a combination of participant observations, interviews with key informants, structured interviews, semistructured interviews, and unstructured interviews. The findings reveal serious inadequacies in the tourism revenue-sharing arrangement that severely constrain the potential for poverty reduction. This also reduces its potential local support effect for the conservation. Whereas an average household reports an annual total income of US$1038, the average benefit from revenue sharing is only US$12 (or 1.2%). Any positive effect from this contribution is further reduced by problems in the allocation-making processes and associated nepotism; this is because the revenues are planned for and distributed by inept local institutions under complex institutional arrangements that lack real local participation and involvement. In addition to the direct sharing of tourism revenues there are a number of other activities that could fall under a general framework of “Development Through Conservation” (e.g. support to private tree planting). Another activity is park-related employment. Each of these two sources contributes about 2% to an average household‟s annual income. Costs include the traditional costs of physical evictions. However, the scope of this thesis is limited to the recurrent costs associated with restrictions on access to resources and damage caused by wildlife. A household bordering on the park foregoes on average about 6% of its annual income because of these restrictions on access to forest resources and on average loses another 10% of its annual income as a result of damage caused by wildlife. For some households, losses from wildlife damage can approach as much as 26% of the household income. What emerges is a situation where local people largely subsidise conservation through the high local costs. The estimated reported average local income is US$ 0.5/ per adult equivalent unit/day. Moreover, because of the problems in decision-making and the associated nepotism, tourism revenues often do not accrue to cost victims. In practice, PA benefits are often subject to local elite capture. This increases local inequality and compromises the ability of the PA to contribute to poverty reduction and improve state local people relations. In spite of this, there seems to be improved attitudes among local people towards the park, with 78 percent of our respondents believing that Bwindi‟s conversion to a national park was a good thing, and despite the lack of individual benefits. People seem to be concerned about nature and the forest regardless of possible monetary transfers. Local perceptions furthermore seem to be characterised by an ambivalence that significantly deviates from the win-win narrative frequently presented by external actors. Local actors or households do regard the present situation as unsatisfactory (a perception which is well-grounded and generally supported by the socio-economic studies in this thesis). However there is some prospect of an improved situation in the future, particularly with regard to tourism because there are promises of improvements in the amount of revenues set aside for local people. Social, political and economic issues relating to PAs are presented and discussed in this thesis. Wider implications and representivity of the findings for other protected area policies in Uganda and elsewhere are several. It is observed that the eventual successes of PAs for the future will depend not only on the overall benefits and costs that eventually reach local communities but also on the distribution of costs and benefits, the implications for damage compensation, and impact on local inequality and the compatibility of present management with local social values, and norms and perceptions of rights and duties Local narratives form important insights in this context and need to be taken much more seriously in endeavours for rights-based development, local involvement and real participation. The local narratives should thus inform policy and practice, and act as a possible counter to the narratives produced by powerful external actors.Denne avhandlingen bidrar til en pågående debatt om naturvern og utvikling. Verdens verneområder for biologisk mangfold har økt eksponensielt de siste 30 årene. Det har vært mange forsøk på å dele inntekter fra turisme i verneområder med lokalbefolkningen. Likevel er fortsatt de sosiale kostnadene ved verneområder et omstridt spørsmål. Dette er bakgrunnen for studien av Bwindi Impenetrable National Park i Uganda. Studiens problemstillinger har vært: i. I hvilken grad bidrar lokalbefolkningens tilgang til inntekter fra turisme til naturvern og reduksjon av fattigdom? ii. Hvilke goder og kostnader av verneområdet får de nærmeste lokalsamfunnene? iii. Hvordan er goder og kostnader fordelt, og hvordan påvirker dette folks holdninger til verneområdet? iv. Hvordan beskriver folk som er naboer til verneområdet sin egen situasjon og sitt forhold til parken? Disse spørsmålene har blitt besvart i fire ulike delstudier. Data ble innsamlet ved hjelp av ulike metoder. Sekundærdata som skriftlige kilder om Bwindi ble brukt i tillegg til primærdata innsamlet ved en kombinasjon av deltakende observasjon, intervjuer med nøkkelinformanter og strukturerte og ustrukturerte intervjuer. Funnene avslører alvorlig begrensninger i fordelingen av inntekter fra turisme, noe som i betydelig grad begrenser potensialet for reduksjon av fattigdom. Dette begrenser også mulighetene for å få lokal støtte for naturvernet. Mens et gjennomsnittlig hushold oppgir en årsinntekt på 1038 USD er gjennomsnittlig inntekt fra den naturbaserte turismen på bare 12 USD i året (eller 1.2% av samlede inntekter). Positive effekter av dette bidraget reduseres ytterligere av problemer med selve fordelingsprosessen knyttet blant annet til nepotisme. Dette skyldes til dels at inntektsfordelingen er planlagt for og distribuert gjennom svake lokale institusjoner med komplekse institusjonelle arrangementer og der lokal deltakelse i stor grad er fraværende. I tillegg til direkte fordeling av inntekter fra turisme, er det også en rekke andre aktiviteter som kunne falle inn under ”naturvernbasert utvikling” (for eksempel støtte til privat treplanting). En annen aktivitet er arbeidsplasser generert av nasjonalparken. Hver av disse to kildene bidrar gjennomsnittlig med 2% av husholdets årlige inntekt i følge våre undersøkelser. Avhandlingen konsentrerer seg om kostnader forbundet med begrensninger på tilgang til ressurser og skader forårsaket av vilt. Et hushold i nærheten av nasjonalparken gir i gjennomsnitt fra seg 6 % av dets årlige inntekt på grunn av førstnevnte begrensninger og 10% mistes i form av skader på avling og husdyr forårsaket av parkens ville dyr. For noen hushold vil slike viltskader kunne beløpe seg til 26% av husholdets inntekter. Resultatet er at lokalbefolkningen ender opp med å subsidiere naturvernet gjennom å bli påført høye lokale kostnader. Den estimerte gjennomsnittlige lokale inntekten er 0.5 USD pr voksen pr dag. På grunn av de nevnte problemene med forvaltningen tilfaller sjelden turistinntekter de som bærer de direkte kostnadene. Det er i praksis lokale eliter som tilriver seg mesteparten av inntektene fra nasjonalparken. Dette øker lokal ulikhet og begrenser mulighetene for naturvernet til å bidra til å redusere fattigdom og å forbedre forholdet mellom staten og lokalbefolkningen. På tross av dette, virker det som holdningene blant lokalbefolkningen til parken i seg selv har bedret seg. Blant våre respondenter var 78 % positive til at Bwindi er en nasjonalpark, til tross for mangelen på individuelle nyttevirkninger fra parken. Folk virker opptatt av vern av naturen og skogen uavhengig av pengeoverføringer. Lokale betraktninger er videre karakterisert av en ambivalens som avviker fra et vinnvinn- narrativ som ofte presenteres av eksterne aktører. Lokalbefolkningen ser ikke på den aktuelle situasjonen som tilfredsstillende. Det kan imidlertid være håp om forbedringer, fordi det er løfter om at en større andel av inntektene fra turisme skal tilfalle lokalbefolkningen. Sosiale, politiske og økonomiske sider ved vern av nasjonalparker blir presentert og diskutert i denne avhandlingen. Det er flere implikasjoner av disse funnene for andre verneområder i Uganda og andre steder. Mulighetene for at verneområder skal lykkes i fremtiden er ikke bare avhengig av generelle inntekter og kostnader, men også av fordelingen av disse inntektene og kostnadene, kompensasjon for skader forårsaket av vilt, konsekvenser for lokal ulikhet og hvordan forvaltningen forholder seg til lokale sosiale verdier, normer, rettigheter og plikter. Lokale narrativer representerer viktige innsikter i denne sammenheng og de må tas mye mer alvorlig i nye forsøk på en rettighetsbasert utvikling som innebærer reell lokal deltakelse. Politikkutforming og praksis bør derfor basere seg på slike lokale mot-narrativer som ofte står i motsetning til narrativer produsert av mektige eksterne aktører.Nordiska Afrikainstitutet (NAI) ; Norsk institutt for naturforskning (NINA

Decentralisation of Forest Management — Is it a Panacea to Challenges in Forest Governance in Uganda?

Decentralisation of forest management is currently implemented in many countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America as a governance strategy aimed at enhancing forest resource conservation, poverty alleviation and equity in forest resource utilisation. In Uganda, the overarching aim of decentralisation of the forest sector was to shift responsibility of forest management to lower elected local government councils so as to increase participation and accountability in the forest sector. In this chapter, we investigate whether decentralisation has led to transfer of “real” power to local authorities and the extent to which the original objectives of decentralised forest service delivery have been achieved and challenges encountered in the implementation. We used questionnaires, unstructured observations and interviews to collect data from three districts of Uganda. We found that District Forest Departments of local government are mostly involved in revenue generating activities and protection of local forest reserves with only a very limited focus on activities that endear people towards participation in the management of local forest reserves. Power sharing of District Local Governments with lower local institutions and local communities is extremely limited. Contradictory policies about forest resource governance, inequitable sharing of revenues generated from forest resources between the District and Sub-county governments, rent seeking and political corruption amongst actors who are charged with forest law enforcement are the major challenges in dispensing decentralised forest governance. There is need to increase space for citizen participation in the management of forest resources, holding accountable of the duty bearers and equity

Contribution of wetland resources to household food security in Uganda

The study mapped experiences of local people regarding food security; assessed the contribution of wetlands to food security; and determined factors that influence dependence on wetlands for food in Uganda, where local farmers are vulnerable to starvation because of dependence on rain-fed agriculture. The traditional means of increasing food production has been to expand areas under cultivation, especially wetlands. Consequently, Uganda has lost about 11,268 km2 of wetland (30% of the country’s wetlands between 1994-2009). Research findings show about 83% of surveyed households experienced food insecurity, and significantly less among households with older and better educated household heads

Uganda's experience in Ebola virus disease outbreak preparedness, 2018-2019.

BACKGROUND: Since the declaration of the 10th Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in DRC on 1st Aug 2018, several neighboring countries have been developing and implementing preparedness efforts to prevent EVD cross-border transmission to enable timely detection, investigation, and response in the event of a confirmed EVD outbreak in the country. We describe Uganda's experience in EVD preparedness. RESULTS: On 4 August 2018, the Uganda Ministry of Health (MoH) activated the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC) and the National Task Force (NTF) for public health emergencies to plan, guide, and coordinate EVD preparedness in the country. The NTF selected an Incident Management Team (IMT), constituting a National Rapid Response Team (NRRT) that supported activation of the District Task Forces (DTFs) and District Rapid Response Teams (DRRTs) that jointly assessed levels of preparedness in 30 designated high-risk districts representing category 1 (20 districts) and category 2 (10 districts). The MoH, with technical guidance from the World Health Organisation (WHO), led EVD preparedness activities and worked together with other ministries and partner organisations to enhance community-based surveillance systems, develop and disseminate risk communication messages, engage communities, reinforce EVD screening and infection prevention measures at Points of Entry (PoEs) and in high-risk health facilities, construct and equip EVD isolation and treatment units, and establish coordination and procurement mechanisms. CONCLUSION: As of 31 May 2019, there was no confirmed case of EVD as Uganda has continued to make significant and verifiable progress in EVD preparedness. There is a need to sustain these efforts, not only in EVD preparedness but also across the entire spectrum of a multi-hazard framework. These efforts strengthen country capacity and compel the country to avail resources for preparedness and management of incidents at the source while effectively cutting costs of using a "fire-fighting" approach during public health emergencies

Wetland Use/Cover Changes and Local Perceptions in Uganda

With increasing population, coupled with land shortage and weather variations, wetlands in Uganda have continued to face degradation due to mainly conversion for agricultural, industrial and settlement purposes. The objective of this study was to determine the spatial and temporal wetland use/cover changes and local perceptions attributed to these changes. The study utilized three sets of ortho-rectified and cloud free Landsat TM/ETM+/MSS temporal images (30 m) of 1986, 2000 and 2011. The classification procedures were carried out using an Integrated Land and Water Information System (ILWIS) software version 3.7. A wetland classification system for Uganda developed by the National Biomass Study, 2003 was adopted to describe the wetland use/cover types. The classified images were validated in a ground truthing exercise using Global Positioning System (GPS) to improve on the classification accuracy. Key informant interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with communities adjacent to the wetlands in each of three of the ten Ugandan agro-ecological zones to determine the underlying drivers of wetland use/cover changes, while household interviews generated information on local perceptions of the changes. Significant changes were mainly observed in wetland use/cover between 1986 and 2011. Major factors responsible for these changes were subsistence farming due to intensification of growing paddy rice in Kyoga plains, an influx of migrants who accessed wetlands for daily subsistence (livestock grazing) in South western farmlands and proximity to urban centres in the Lake Victoria Crescent. In all the sampled agro-ecological zones, increased crop farming in wetlands was due to changing opportunities created by existent large markets for wetland crops. Majority (60%) of the local people perceived wetlands in their proximity to have undergone high degradation within the last 10 years, and to have declined in quantity and quality of vegetation, soil fertility and water levels. There was a noticeable variation across the sampled agro-ecological zones, with the highest proportion of local communities perceiving degradation being in Kyoga plains (76%), followed by Lake Victoria crescent (63%) and South-western farmlands (41%). Locally perceived threats to wetlands were mainly from crop growing that accounted for 33% of the frequency of mentioned threats, collection of wetland resources (30%), and prolonged floods and droughts (12%). This study confirms the importance of economic opportunities from new market outlets and migration in its various forms as key factors in land use change, especially at timescales of a couple of decades

Breaking the law? Illegal livelihoods from a Protected Area in Uganda

Forests are important to local livelihoods and regulating access to forests will have consequences to those livelihoods and may promote illegal harvesting. This study analyses how local people make a living, focusing on the illegal collection of a forest's resources following its declaration as a Protected Area (PA). A household survey was conducted between October and December 2005, combining semi-structured individual household interviews and village level focus group discussions. Six sub-counties bordering the Rwenzori Mountain National Park in Uganda were chosen at random and two sample villages randomly selected from each. Through a participatory wealth ranking exercise, all the individual households in each sample village were assigned to one of three categories: rich, medium or poor. From this stratified list five individual households were randomly selected from each category for semi-structured interviews. Household livelihood outcomes were assessed and a fractional logit regression was used to estimate factors influencing dependency on forest income. Households with less access to assets exhibited greater dependence on forest resources. The average household was poor with a per adult equivalent unit income of 0.5 USD/day, with 18.6% of their income being derived from environmental resources. Based on income per adult equivalent unit, households were divided into poor and less poor. Both categories reported illegal collection of forest products. The poor households derived 32% of their environmental income and 12% of their total income from the park compared to the less poor at 18% and 4.5% respectively. The park resources reduced income inequality, as well as the incidence and depth of poverty by 2.8, 3.0, and 5.0 percentage points, respectively. Small reductions in the incidence of poverty suggest that forest resources may not be reliable as a pathway out of poverty, but the poverty depth measure shows that forest resources have a significant impact on helping to make the poor less poor. Under such circumstances, our observation is that increased law enforcement alone is unlikely to protect the park. Interventions that allow managed access to these resources in the short term, whilst creating operational opportunities outside the areas to cater for local peoples' rights and needs in the longer term may be more suitable.Environmental income Forest income Illegal Livelihoods Protected Area Uganda

Wetland use/cover changes and local perceptions in Uganda

With increasing population, coupled with land shortage and weather variations, wetlands in Uganda have continued to face degradation due to mainly conversion for agricultural, industrial and settlement purposes. The objective of this study was to determine the spatial and temporal wetland use/cover changes and local perceptions attributed to these changes. The study utilized three sets of ortho-rectified and cloud free Landsat TM/ETM+/MSS temporal images (30 m) of 1986, 2000 and 2011. The classification procedures were carried out using an Integrated Land and Water Information System (ILWIS) software version 3.7. A wetland classification system for Uganda developed by the National Biomass Study, 2003 was adopted to describe the wetland use/cover types. The classified images were validated in a ground truthing exercise using Global Positioning System (GPS) to improve on the classification accuracy. Key informant interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with communities adjacent to the wetlands in each of three of the ten Ugandan agro-ecological zones to determine the underlying drivers of wetland use/cover changes, while household interviews generated information on local perceptions of the changes. Significant changes were mainly observed in wetland use/cover between 1986 and 2011. Major factors responsible for these changes were subsistence farming due to intensification of growing paddy rice in Kyoga plains, an influx of migrants who accessed wetlands for daily subsistence (livestock grazing) in South western farmlands and proximity to urban centres in the Lake Victoria Crescent. In all the sampled agro-ecological zones, increased crop farming in wetlands was due to changing opportunities created by existent large markets for wetland crops. Majority (60%) of the local people perceived wetlands in their proximity to have undergone high degradation within the last 10 years, and to have declined in quantity and quality of vegetation, soil fertility and water levels. There was a noticeable variation across the sampled agro-ecological zones, with the highest proportion of local communities perceiving degradation being in Kyoga plains (76%), followed by Lake Victoria crescent (63%) and South-western farmlands (41%). Locally perceived threats to wetlands were mainly from crop growing that accounted for 33% of the frequency of mentioned threats, collection of wetland resources (30%), and prolonged floods and droughts (12%). This study confirms the importance of economic opportunities from new market outlets and migration in its various forms as key factors in land use change, especially at timescales of a couple of decades

Wetland use/cover changes in Uganda from 1986-2011

Rapid change in wetland cover has been hastened by increasing annual population growth with pressure for settlement and industrial expansion especially in and around urban and peri-urban wetland areas. The trend for increasing conversion of wetlands for subsistence farming is clear in mapping from 2011 compared with 1986, particularly in the Lake Victoria crescent and Kyoga plains. These changes are driven mainly by subsistence farming due to intensification of low land (paddy) rice in Kyoga plains, banana plantation, and influx of migrants and refugees from nearby countries