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Natural Resource Management |
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Figure 1: Manage your environment well and
enjoy the benefits
or suffer the consequences |
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Natural resources remain a primary source of livelihood for most of Ugandan households and supplement their daily basic needs and income for example from agriculture, charcoal burning, brick making, fishing, and sale of crafts.
Degradation of Natural Resources undermines the livelihoods of the poor. The cost of natural resource degradation in Uganda was estimated as high as 17% of the gross national income per year of which 6% is forest degradation and 11% soil degradation. Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP) 2004)
Areas of concern to Environmental Alert are:
- Increased massive deforestation
- Unsustainable utilization of wetlands and wetland resources
- Land and soil degradation
- Poor waste management
In addition, it is estimated, that land degradation accounts for over 80% of the annual costs of environmental degradation. By 1991, conservative estimates of the annual cost of environmental degradation were put at about US$ 157 - 480 million. Capitalized as Government’s social opportunity cost of production at 12% per annum, the environmental degradation costs represent an environmental debt of US$ 1 - 4 billion today A properly articulated response to this problem would be clear indication of Uganda’s commitment towards reducing or even eliminating this environmental indebtedness, perhaps even at net benefit to communities and the private sector Environmental Alert would like to work towards averting this environmental degradation. The main program components are:
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