Uganda Wetland Maps will help to reduce poverty and boost economy
Gland,
12 May 2009 - The World Resources Institute (WRI)
has produced a new report called “Mapping a Better
Future: How Spatial Analysis Can Benefit Wetlands and
Reduce Poverty in Uganda”, in collaboration with
Uganda’s Wetlands Management Department, the Uganda
Bureau of Statistics, and the International Livestock
Research Institute.
The maps that appear in this report demonstrate that both poor and developed areas in Uganda have experienced wetlands degradation, dispelling the myth that wetlands loss only occurs in poorer areas. It also provides information on how to reduce poverty through better management of the country’s wetlands.
The report builds upon efforts undertaken during the last 15 years by the Ugandan government to promote sustainable wetland management. Both Uganda’s Poverty Eradication Action Plan and the 10-year Wetlands Sector Strategic Plan, launched in 2001, have emphasized the need to balance poverty reduction and wetlands management. Between 1995 and 2005, the government spent US$2 million to develop the National Wetlands Information System as an inventory and tracking system of wetland use in Uganda – the first of its kind in Africa. Simultaneously, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics produced detailed maps showing poverty levels across the country.
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