Lake Victoria is the second largest lake in the world among freshwater lakes exceeded in size only by Lake Superior in North America. It occupies an area of 86,600 sq. meters and is about 70 meters deep and is Uganda’s key biodiversity area (Pomeroy et al., 2017) and home to endangered Grey crowned cranes, vulnerable Shoebills (IUCN, 2016; 2017) among other wildlife species.
However, the lake is shocking with siltation, shoreline encroachment and degradation of its wetlands to rice/sugarcane growing, settlements, sand mining, deforestation and illegal hunting by local communities and private sector (Kakira /Mayuge Sugar Company, timber dealers association, fisher folk and traders), (Nyadoi et al., 2018), causing loss of habitats of Grey crowned cranes and other inhabiting wildlife and hence there is need for joint efforts involving these partners in conservation of the species.
As a result of the above human activities, the lake Victoria waters and wetlands are faced with severe challenges such as pollution, algae growth and eutrophication, efficient jumping among others (Peter, 2016). Mayuge district with Lake Victoria shore Area Coverage of approximately 5,000 Hectares, has over 70% (3500 Hectares) degraded and as such affecting the quality of water, life and land all of which negatively impacting on the quality of life. Like many other districts in Uganda, Mayuge has lost over 95% of its vital wetlands, swamps and natural forests to agriculture, settlements, lumbering and other human subsistence and commercial activities. This has led to erosion, flooding, poor and reduced water quality, siltation of the Lake and depletion of vital flora that includes Ficus, Makharmia, Albizia, Phragmititis reeds, Marshlands, Melicia exelcia and fauna including Grey crowned cranes which is endangered (IUCN, 2016), the Shoebills which is vulnerable (IUCN, 2017), and other species that locally are threatened with habitat and species loss like the Egrets, White eagles, Buffalos, Bush and Water bucks, Warthogs, Hippos, Vervet monkeys, crocodiles and Wild pigs in Uganda and therefore targeted in this project.
Additionally, most Islands in the lake are now bare with no vegetation and the South Busoga Forest adjacent to the lake and home to most of the above endangered wildlife species has lost over 70% of its original cover, exposing the species to conflicts with humans and killing as their range extend to communal lands after forest loss. This has aggravated extinction threat locally to the species. There is need to address, continuing loss and degradation of their lake shore and forest habitat, to enable restoration and conservation for proper watershed management to ensure improved water quality through Restoration of South Busoga Forest especially riparian buffers to improve water quality and wildlife habitat, Restore eroded streambanks to reduce sediment pollution and improve water quality and species habitat, Restore and enhance lake Victoria shore wetlands for water quality and wildlife habitat, Preserve forests, riparian corridors, wetlands and farmland that are vital for protecting water quality and wildlife habitat and restore sustainable populations of native tree species.
To address this need holistically, the capacity of the communities to conserve and protect the environment for watershed management and co-exist harmoniously with the wildlife species have to be strengthened. This can be done through training, awareness raising and promoting economically beneficial communities’ participation in restoration of the habitats, watersheds and populations of the wildlife species. This is further strengthened by the Mayuge district local government approval of a Local Governments Environment and Natural Resources Management Ordinance 2012 which provides opportunity for implementation of integrated watershed management and related conservation projects.
Project Purpose
The purpose of this project is to promote Lake Victoria Watershed Restoration and Protection through community training and capacity building in Mayuge District, Eastern Uganda. The promotion of proper watershed practices will reduce wetland and lakeshores degradation; improve the quality of water while preserving ecosystem stability, functions, and services such as soil and watershed and nutrient retention.
To achieve this, the project will be guided by the following objectives;
1. Awareness education on watershed and vital habitat protection (USD 2,000). The activities will include;
-Mobilization of the different stakeholders (farmers, community groups, business communities, local authorities and government relevant departments to raise awareness on watershed conservation
-Hold awareness raising training workshops to sensitize communities on the need to conserve the lake Victoria watershed and the species therein.
-Design implementation strategies for the sustainable natural resources management within the lake Victoria ecosystem
-Draft and sign Memorandum of Understanding to guide the conservation strategies among the stakeholders
2. Revegetate riparian to minimize sedimentation levels and improve on water quality
Activities will include;
-Mobilization of lake Victoria shores adjacent communities
-Purchase and supply of 111,100 native seedlings from local nurseries and planting in the severely degraded 100 Hectares (USD 16000)
-Awareness raising materials, Community workshops and establishment of local agents to work in collaboration with local government in securing the watershed ecosystem
3. Monitoring and Evaluation 1000
Methodology
1) The awareness raising workshop on watershed and habitat protection, wildlife and natural resources conservation and management will be conducted for 7 days with 400 people. The 400 people will be local leaders, conservation experts, conservation agencies, private sector, women, men and youths from the target communities and will be identified purposively.
This will be to increase appreciation of the value of intact forests, wetlands and wildlife species we will emphasize their inherent value as well as their pragmatic importance for healthy watersheds, rainfall and climate, and regeneration of economically valuable hardwood species, tourism development among others. The 400 people will be involved in this process as focal communities and over the long-term, we expect to motivate residents to conserve their forests (especially reparian) and participate in future corridor establishment activities by winning both hearts and minds for effective and sustainable watershed management resulting into improved water quality.
2)The 400 members of the communities will be trained as trainers of other community members on watershed restoration and management from their localities. This activity will be conducted for 14 days. Targeted 400 persons will be purposively selected and as change agents trained for this purpose. The 400 persons to be trained will include youth leaders (50 female, 50 males), women (150 women) and men (150 including local council and cultural institutions) leaders. These have been selected as they are strategically placed to influence their communities and cause changes in their attitudes and practices within their existing interaction structures and institutions. These 400 persons will be selected purposively based on their locality being within and/or adjacent to the lakeshore and forest habitats, and also being the group whose socioeconomic activities contribute to degradation of the watershed habitats and siltation and sedimentation of Lake victoria. These individuals will be selected at the beginning of the project through participatory survey approach involving individual interviews, focus group discussions and key informant interviews.
The 400 persons selected above will be trained by watershed restoration and management, wldlife conservation experts from the Minstry of Water and Environment, Uganda Wildlife Authority, in collaboration with Uganda Wildlife Society and the Mayuge District Local Government. The training content will be informed by the results of the training needs assessment among the communities and other issues as including the,
-Importance of the selected target project area, wildlife species and their conservation,
-Ways of conserving the species, watershed restoration and management, their habitats and breeding areas, including protection and wise use,
-Ways of benefiting from the watershed areas and species therein including through ecotourism services, revenue sharing, wise use,
-Ways of diversifying livelihoods off the riparian areas and, species and their habitats, including agroforestry, ecotourism,
Ways of raising awareness among community members of the importance of the watershed conservation and management and,
-Ways of raising awareness about and preventing degradation, water quality, watershed loss and human wildlife conflicts.
A tailor made syllabus and reading materials will be prepared for the training in advance and shared with the trainees. The training will then be organized in a way that face to face training will be conducted in 14 days for theories and this will involve presentations by the training experts and role plays by the trainees.
The collaboration modality will be guided by an MoU to be generated jointly by the partners involved, during the implementation of the project phase.
At the end of the project, the trainees/made change agents (project beneficiaries) will continue to work with the local government departments of natural resources and wildlife, Uganda Wildlife Authority and tour operator agents (private sector) as provided for in policy guidelines for community participation in wildlife management, and continue with their project initiated activities.
In this the project, beneficiaries will sustainably be involved in conservation compatible –income generating ecotourism activities based on the targeted wildlife species and their habitats.
Participation in management of the wildlife species by the communities together with the wildlife authority and the district local government and deriving revenue for the conservation enterprises to be developed based on the targeted wildlife species will provide the project participants/beneficiaries long-term-sustainable income and livelihood means thereby reducing poverty among them and on the other hand elicit the beneficiaries’ interest and participation in conservation and consequently this will lead to reduced degradation of the wildlife habitats, reduced killing of the wildlife and consequently stop the human wildlife conflicts.
The project will be implemented in collaboration with Mayuge District local government specifically the department of natural resources. This will especially be important in ensuring local support, provision of technical guidance, mobilization of participants and supervision, monitoring and securing of planted seedlings to ensure maximum survival. They will do this by providing the human resources from the units to perform these duties. They will also ensure that there is effective collaboration with local communities to reduce and resultantly stop further degradation of watersheds, lakeshores and forest resource to bring about better water quality.
Additionally, Private Sector (Rice and Sugarcane growers) and local communities will directly be involved in the project implementation. Ministry of Water and Environment will also be involved in the project and they will provide the technical and policy guidance and influence in promoting sustainable wetlands conservation and water quality promotion.
Impact of the project
This project will directly restore or protect 100 hectares of lake Victoria shore wetlands by planting 111,100 indigenous trees to improve watershed conservation and management among 400 habitat adjacent community members. The project will also empower and build the capacity by the knowledge that the project will impart to the local communities regarding watershed conservation and other natural resources management. The project will also provide knowledge on best practices on watershed conservation and this will provide more information for replication and informing policy. This will help reduce on the dangers associated with flooding, biodiversity loss, and siltation of the lake and pollution of water. These will be captured by the monitoring tool that will be designed by the project team to include; the number of hectares, number of beneficiaries, number of indigenous seedlings planted, number of days for the workshop/trainings held, the level of commitment by the local authorities to provide security and work with local people for sustainable watershed restoration and management and siltation levels.
Expected Outcome
The project expected outcomes include;
111,100 indigenous tree seedlings planted and surviving in the severely degraded watershed
100 hectares of degraded Lake Victoria shore watershed restored
Improved water quantity and quality due to reduced flooding and siltation
Reduced Encroachment by adjacent communities on the targeted habitat due to adoption and practicing best agricultural practices
Reduced pollution of the lake by the adjacent communities
Increased knowledge of the local communities in watershed conservation and management
Enhanced conservation status of the endangered and vulnerable Grey crowned crane and Shoebill stork in the Lake Victoria shores and adjacent farmland habitats and enhanced livelihood options among adjacent communities in Mayuge District.
A publication of lessons from implementation of the watershed restoration and conservation strategy along Lake Victoria Shores and adjacent on-farms disseminated to and being used by conservation managers, local governments, local communities and other stakeholders, for policy and practice influence.
Increased participation of local communities (men, women, and youth) participation in watershed, wildlife/biodiversity (Shoebill stork and Grey crowned crane) conservation and management in the Lake Victoria Shores and adjacent on-farms in Mayuge District
