Conan Businge And Rebecca Harshbarger
6 May 2009
Kampala — WETLANDS in Uganda are estimated to have an annual productive value of between sh9 trillion and sh18 trillion, according to a new report by the World Resources Institute and the Wetlands Management Department.
The wetlands provide subsistence employment for over 2.4 million people. Another 320,000 are directly employed in wetlands related fields, according to the report.
In addition, five million people in rural areas, get their daily freshwater supply from wetlands. "The economic value of this service alone has been estimated at $25m (about sh50b) per year in Uganda.
"Wetlands are a powerful wall of protection for Uganda's economic development," said Paul Mafabi, the Wetlands Management Department commissioner, at the release of the report at the Statistics House in Kampala on Tuesday.
There are about 20m hectares of wetlands in Uganda, which is 15% of Uganda's land area. There are wetlands in almost every sub-county in the country.
Over 70% of all wetlands are used for three simultaneous purposes; water collection, livestock grazing, and natural tree harvesting.
The report shows that both poor and developed areas in Uganda have experienced wetlands degradation, dispelling the myth that wetlands' loss only occurs in poorer areas.
The maps accompanying the study identify the economic value of the nation's wetlands.
"They show where wetland management can have the greatest impacts on reducing poverty," said Mafabi.
The report is entitled "Mapping a Better Future: How Spatial Analysis Can Benefit Wetlands and Reduce Poverty in Uganda."
In a statement, the president of the World Resources Institute, Jonathan Lash, praised Uganda's efforts in mapping poverty-hit areas and those covered with wetlands.
With the new report, he believes people will be able to link the issues more easily.
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Wetland health is critical to every nation's survival. Protecting them is desperately needed, and only those things of economic value retain protection. So Yes! do exploit your wetlands, but do so carefully. They are not hard to destroy. There is food, fuel and fiber to be gotten that way. Another harvestible crop is soil. Swamp plants, particularly Typha and Phragmites, produce copious soil that often needs to be removed for the health of the wetlands. There is an enormous need for soil elsewhere.