Landuse-based nonpoint source pollution: a threat to water

quality in Murchison Bay, Uganda

E. N. Banaddaa, F. Kansiimeb, M. Kigobec, M. Kizzac and I. Nhapid

aCorresponding author. Department of Food Science and Technology, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda.

Fax: þ 256 41 54 03 74. E-mail: banadda@agric.mak.ac.ugbInstitute of Natural Resource and Environment, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda

cDepartment of Civil Engineering, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala, UgandadDepartment of Building and Civil Engineering, National University of Rwanda, P.O. Box 117, Butare, Rwanda

Abstract

Murchison Bay in Lake Victoria is the main water source for Kampala City (Uganda) but is also the recipient for

the wastewater discharged from the city. The objective of this paper is to trace the main landuse-based pollution

sources within Kampala City borders and around Murchison Bay as a means to develop methods and systems to

protect and preserve the aquatic environment and, from the lessons learned, to highlight what is considered to be an

appropriate and sustainable approach for Uganda. This paper shows that Uganda needs to set realistic local

standards, offer affordable services, set time frameworks, streamline politics, nurture and develop institutions,

divide institutional responsibilities, educate her people and learn from the success stories to reverse the negative

impacts on the water quality in Murchison Bay.

Keywords: Lake Victoria; Murchison Bay; Nonpoint source pollution; Uganda; Water quality

1. Introduction

Water pollution is generally classified into two categories, namely, point source (PS) and nonpoint

source (NPS). NPS pollution generally consists of sediment, nutrients, organic and toxic pollutants, and

originates from more diffuse pollution sources such as agriculture, urban storm water runoff or other

land-uses (Davis & Hirji, 2003). Furthermore, NPS pollution impacts at a larger scale but generally at

lower concentrations, making pollution sources difficult to identify. In addition, more people contribute

to the problem and are usually affected, increasing the difficulty of management. Although NPS

pollutants tend to occur in lower concentrations than PS pollutants, the environmental impact they cause

can be just as severe (EPA, 2002).

doi: 10.2166/wp.2009.106

Water Policy 11 Supplement 1 (2009) 93–104

q IWA Publishing 2009

The once clear, life-filled Lake Victoria is murky and smelly (Ogutu et al., 1990). The ecological

health of Lake Victoria has been affected profoundly as a result of a rapidly increasing human population

due to migration to the area by plantation workers, clearance of natural vegetation along the shores to

establish plantations of coffee, tea and sugar (Nkonya et al., 2002; MWLE, 2006), prolific growth of

algae (Kyomuhendo, 2002) and pollution (Matagi, 2002). The National Water and Sewerage

Corporation (NWSC), charged with treating and supplying water to Kampala City dwellers, are

complaining of raising treatment costs. Murchison Bay in Lake Victoria is the main water source for

Kampala but is also the recipient of wastewater from the city. Situated to the south-east of Kampala and

covering ca. 60 km2, the Murchison Bay is an extremely important feature of the ecosystem, as well as

being central to the development and health of over one million people in its catchment area. It is not

only a source of food, water, employment, transport and recreation, but is also now used as a dumping

ground for various types of waste.

Until recently the large natural ecosystem areas within the city’s borders have functioned as filters for

polluted wastewater and absorbents for storm water. These natural ecosystems reduced the need for

proper systems and saved the water quality in Murchison Bay. In Murchison Bay there are increasing

amounts of plant nutrients and algae, and increasing problems for the waterworks (Larsson, 2002). The

ecological health of the lake has been affected profoundly as a result of the rapidly growing population

(2.5% per annum), clearance of natural vegetation along the shores (MWLE, 2006), and dumping of

untreated effluent by several industries (Matagi, 2002; Kyomuhendo, 2002). Furthermore, the rapid

increase in urban population, among other factors, has triggered a large-scale need for agricultural land,

quality drinking water, building sites, industrial areas, roads and thus a reduction in the natural

ecosystems area. Although each of these competing needs are justifiable in one way or the other, the

increase in conflicts over drinking water quality is the most serious and it cannot be ignored. It is

worthy mentioning that the whole scenario is complicated by the fact that the NWSC not only

draws water for the city from this bay, but also lets semi-treated sewage from the city into the lake at a

point only four kilometers from the water intake. In other words, NWSC is both the biggest water

supplier and the biggest polluter with 68% and 89% frequency of non-compliance with the national

standard for total suspended solids (100mgL21) and BOD (50mgL21), respectively (Okwerede

et al., 2005).

With an increasing population and infrastructural developments in Uganda, some practices such as

building and/or expanding sites have shown dramatic increase. This is threatening the sustainability of

marine ecosystems and water quality. That aside, an increase in turbidity, associated with the suspended

soil material in the water has a potential impact on the tourism industry (Toumazis, 1995). It is therefore

necessary to raise some reflections on the increasing pollution from landuse-based nonpoint sources

within Kampala City borders and around Murchison Bay. Failure to control pollution originating from

landuse-based sources will result in Murchison Bay waters facing dangerous deterioration in quality in

the near future, in the midst of limited financial means to tackle the problem. While for over a decade

industrialized countries, as well as countries of transitional economies, have turned their attention to

nonpoint source pollution control (Tonderski, 1996), very few developing countries are acting on, or

even studying, the significance of nonpoint pollution sources and ways to control them. Although there is

no universally applicable approach to improving the aquatic environment, many experiences

encountered by the so-called developed world can be learned from by developing nations currently

attempting to rectify their own aquatic pollution problems (Johnstone & Horan, 1996). It is against such

a background that this paper aims at (a) assessing pollution levels; (b) tracing the main landuse-based

E. N. Banadda et al. / Water Policy 11 Supplement 1 (2009) 93–10494

pollution sources and their causes within Kampala City borders and aroundMurchison Bay; (c) assessing

non-point pollution control measures; and (d) highlighting, from the lessons learned, what is considered

to be an appropriate and sustainable approach for a developing country like Uganda.

2. Pollution discharges

Metropolitan Kampala has a number of formal as well as informal industrial areas totaling 1,213

hectares (Matagi, 2002). Industries contribute to pollution by air emissions, noise and wastewater

discharge. Inventories carried out from 1990 up to 2006 show that most industries do not have proper

methods for disposing of expired chemicals and/or chemical wastes. A case in point is the coffee

processing factories that emit between 1–25mgm23, much higher than the World Health Organization

permissible level of 0.2mgm23. Other sources of pollution include car battery repair, reconditioning

and manufacturing, traffic, and electric welding using lead coated arc, copper and chromium attributed

to electric pole treatment, and zinc from paint factories, to mention but a few (Matagi, 2002). Also of

particular interest is urban agriculture. With over 70% of its population earning below the poverty level,

a large number of city residents have resorted to urban agriculture to supplement their meager income.

Farming is done on marginal areas such as slopes and swamps. Unfortunately, these are also very fragile

ecosystems prone to degradation. The indiscriminate drainage of swamps in city environs and growth in

the of use inorganic chemicals in agriculture is well documented (Matagi, 2002).

The socio-economic and environmental impacts are enormous. In addition to point source pollution as

depicted in Table 1, field surveys have also revealed that, because of poor land-use, the fertile topsoil has

been removed followed by a loss of green cover, creating soil erosion, ditches where mosquitoes breed,

water logging and irrigation-related management problems, and poor water quality to mention but a few.

Livelihoods suffer in turn. Deterioration in water quality has been observed to such an extent that NWSC

has had to re-design its Gaba treatment works (Kampala) by adding an alum dosing step in order to

improve color and turbidity, in a bid to make the water acceptable to consumers. Naturally this has led to

an increase in water prices, hurting especially the poor who cannot afford it.

Table 1. Pollution loading (kg day21) from industries discharging wastewater into the Kinawataka wetland (adapted from

Okwerede et al., 2005).

Factory BOD COD TSS TN TP

Britannia Products 975 2,685 1,427 20 5

Mukwano soap and oil 22 35 13 3 1

City Abattoir 420 1,265 1,868 102 42

Uganda meat packers 276 890 744 73 24

Nakasero soap works 48 130 16 4 1

Hwang sung fish 74 127 33 44 10

Uganda fish packers 423 599 24 95 163

Ngege fish 322 654 151 59 37

Crown bottlers 523 1,584 133 143 11

BOD: Biological Oxygen Demand; COD: Chemical Oxygen Demand; TSS: Total Suspended Solids; TN: Total Nitrogen; TP:

Total Phosphorus.

E. N. Banadda et al. / Water Policy 11 Supplement 1 (2009) 93–104 95

3. Factors leading to nonpoint source pollution of Murchison Bay

Murchison Bay extends into a network of wetlands that account for a large proportion of its water

quality. These wetlands have traditionally served the role of filtering the water that flows into the bay,

and experience from other places has shown that the wetlands are used to purify waste water from the

city (Davis, 1993). However, a variety of literature attests to the deteriorating relationship between

society and Murchison bay, and Lake Victoria in general, and this is especially manifested by the high

levels of pollution in the lake. Despite their importance, however, the wetlands in Murchison bay have

been encroached upon and utilized by society in such a way as to alter their normal and natural functions.

The present status of much of the wetlands in the bay is such that a lot of them are no longer recognizable

as such. They have been put to use for housing, location of industry, extractive cottage industries such as

brick making, dumping of waste and as channels for liquid waste.

3.1. Underlying causes

3.1.1. Population growth. The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) census results of 1980, 1991, 2002

put the population in Uganda at 12.6 million, 16.1 million and 26 million, respectively. In barely two

decades, the population in Uganda has doubled. Since 1991, the UBOS estimates that the average rate of

annual increase has been around 2.5%, despite HIV/AIDS infection rates which have profoundly

affected demographic patterns (UBOS, 2006a). This rate of growth is expected to continue and it is

predicted that it will reach 55 million by 2025. Kampala City, the administrative, political, commercial,

industrial, and educational centre of Uganda, is only 8 km north of Lake Victoria. UBOS (2006a) records

indicate that the average annual growth rate for Kampala City from 1995 to 2005 was a high 5.4%.

Kampala City, originally built on seven hills, today encompasses forty-six hills (Matagi, 2002).

3.1.2. Political appeasement. Political appeasement is partially responsible for the deforestation and

consequently for a decline in water quality in Murchison Bay. Experience shows that forest

encroachment in Uganda increases remarkably during election periods. Due to the attraction of the

forests, the poor masses occupying forests use their votes as a bargaining tool to elect politicians that

support them. In the past, it was after elections that efforts were made to move people out of the forest

reserves. Most of the time, any changes to the landscape cannot be repaired and, high nutrient content,

Algae blooms, raise in water acidity to mention but a few have resulted in Murchison Bay.

3.1.3. Land use and ownership. Although food production can be increased through intensification,

most of the food production increases are due to expansion of cultivated land. Before the colonial period,

the bulk of land was held on a communal basis. Land ownership began to be seen as an individual

phenomenon at the beginning of the colonial era. This change in the land tenure systems was first

facilitated by the 1900 Uganda Agreement. Article 15 of the Agreement parceled out the land in

Buganda for the establishment of Kampala town and for allocation to the Kabaka (king of Buganda),

members of the royal family, chiefs, colonial settlers (British Crown land) and forest reserves. This

arbitrary parceling out of land by the colonial state was confirmed by the Land Law of 1908. Further

individualization of land ownership was set in concrete by the 1955 Royal Commission which

recommended the registration of individual ownership throughout Uganda. It is therefore not surprising

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that private land ownership in Uganda complicates land-use and management issues. Because of the

sensitivity of land ownership in Uganda, forest reserves and wetlands, legally held in trust by the

government, are among the offers made to potential investors.

3.2. Proximate causes

3.2.1. Deforestation. Deforestation is understood as the net conversion from forest to non-forest land

cover, and is usually discussed from the perspective of (i) global warming and global carbon budget;

(ii) forest productivity; (iii) an immense source of food, fibre, medicine and fuel (Boom, 1985); and

(iv) cultural and spiritual functions to the peoples of the tropics. However, it also affects habitats for

animals and plants, and affects soil erosion. In literature reviews (e.g. Bruijnzeel, 1990) different views

are presented on the effects of deforestation on soil erosion. Some scientists suggest that deforestation in

the tropics results in widespread soil erosion, floods, droughts and desertification, while others explain

increased soil erosion by poor land-use practices and construction activities following clearing of the

forest. Apart from severe losses of fertile soil, it obviously has damaging consequences for water quality

with excessive sediment loads ending up in dams, lakes or coastal areas (Tonderski, 1996).

The drive to industrialize Uganda in order to create employment in the longer term has led to

deforestation. Forests, specifically those on big islands in Lake Victoria (e.g. on the Kalangala islands),

are the most threatened. The current policy on urbanization and industrialization is seen as a threat to

sustainable forest management due to the pressure this generates for the conversion of forest land. Many

urban and peri-urban plantations are threatened with clearance. For example, the increasing demand for

industrial land has caused the loss of 1,000 ha of forest in Namanve Forest Reserve (on the Kampala-

Jinja highway) and another loss of 8,744 ha in Wabisi-Wajala Forest Reserve. There are also numerous

smaller areas of peri-urban plantations that have been cleared by some urban authorities.

3.2.2. Crop production. Forests around the Lake Victoria basin have been cleared to give way to

various construction activities (e.g. hotels to host the CHOGM 2007 delegates) and crop production on a

large-scale. A number of crops are grown on the shoreline farms and these include matooke, sugarcane,

cassava, maize, sweet potatoes, etc. (Nkonya et al., 2002; Wood & Bolwig 2002). Farmers are

shifting away from the traditional use of organic fertilizers to increased use of inorganic fertilizers.

A combination of land-use change from forest to cropland and inappropriate crop production practices

are responsible for land degradation and water pollution in Murchison Bay. To reduce water costs, some

of the horticultural farms are running small-scale irrigation schemes off the shores of Lake Victoria.

By the early 1990s, the number of horticulture farms around Lake Victoria had grown dramatically

(Davis, 1993; MAAIF, 2004; Okwerede et al., 2005; MWLE, 2006). Such irrigation practices are a

major contributor to water pollution in Murchison Bay and, according to MWLE (2006), this has

affected the breeding grounds of migrating birds along the shores of Lake Victoria.

3.2.3. Animal production. Animal production has been intensified to meet the increasing demand for

livestock products and to support the livelihoods of the poor. Matagi (2002) reported that over 70% of

Kampala City’s population is considered to be poor and, of these, 5–15% are engaged in rearing 2 to 10

Friesian cows. Livestock are increasingly being kept and fed in barnyards and stables. Great amounts of

concentrated waste make feedlots and barnyards significant sources of non-point pollution loads.

E. N. Banadda et al. / Water Policy 11 Supplement 1 (2009) 93–104 97

In places such as Gaba, Buziga, and Munyonyo, excessive amounts of manure are disposed of on limited

areas of agricultural land, enhancing nutrient leakage and runoff from the fields and hence polluting the

streams feeding into Murchison Bay. Water pollution also occurs where livestock graze in wetlands or

are taken to streams for drinking water. According to Doran & Linn (1979), surface runoff from grazed

pasture may reach 5–10 times higher fecal coliform concentrations than from ungrazed pasture land.

3.2.4. Wetlands degradation. Just over one sixth of Kampala City is covered by wetlands and most of

them drain into Lake Victoria. Of the twelve wetland areas in the city, Nakivubo is the largest. It covers

approximately 5.29 km2, and has a total catchment extending over 40 km2 (COWI, 1998). The Nakivubo

wetland runs from the central industrial district of Kampala City, entering Lake Victoria at Murchison

Bay. En route it passes through dense residential settlements and commercial areas. Experiences from

other places such as Calcutta in India have shown that the wetlands are used to purify wastewater from

the city (Davis, 1993). However, a variety of literature (e.g. COWI, 1998; Emerton et al., 1999;

Okwerede et al., 2005) attests to the deteriorating relationship between society and Murchison Bay, and

Lake Victoria in general, and this is especially manifested by the high levels of pollution in the lake. The

Nakivubo wetland supports farming because it provides the water required for irrigated crop cultivation

as well as depositing sediments and nutrients which maintain soil fertility. Of the original area of

5.29 km2, it is estimated that 2.9 km2 of the Nakivubo remains uncovered (COWI, 1998), and thus

2.39 km2 or 45% has been modified or reclaimed. Cultivation takes place mainly in the northern parts

and fringes of the wetland, in shallow waters and seasonally-flooded areas. There are approximately 550

farmers in the Nakivubo wetland, most of whom are slum dwellers. Individual plots are small, with a

mean size of between 0.24 to 0.5 ha, typically composed of a number of small scattered fields. Although

a range of crops is grown, the vast majority of the cultivated area is located in permanently waterlogged

parts of the wetland, and is covered by cocoyams and sugarcane. Other crops such as sweet potatoes,

bananas, mixed vegetables and cassava are farmed in only small quantities and in the drier areas of the

wetland. However, during this study it was noted that there are no toilet facilities in the cultivated areas;

farmers depend on make-shift toilets that are basically shallow holes in the wetland.

It was also observed that up to 70 people are involved in brick-making around the Nakivubo wetland.

These are mostly slum dwellers who sell bricks for a living. An average of 7 people work full-time on

each kiln of bricks, taking 5 weeks to excavate, mould and burn, and yielding up to 9,000 bricks. Once

the bricks are harvested, a new site is sought. This interferes with the functionality of the wetland and

consequently leads to an increase in suspended solids in Murchison Bay. Basically, the economic

development around Lake Victoria has improved access to wetlands zones, and increased their

attractiveness as a new land resource. Moreover, the close proximity of the Nakivubo wetland in relation

to the attractive market Kampala City dwellers offer entices investors to reclaim it. In turn, this has led to

increased suspended solids in the water in Murchison Bay, which is offensive to aquatic life in Lake

Victoria (Ogutu et al., 1990; Kyomuhendo, 2002). The consequences of this encroachment on the

wetlands, contributing negatively to water quality in Murchison Bay and on the ecological balance, are

fairly well documented (COWI, 1998; Okwerede et al., 2005).

3.2.5. Development of transportation infrastructure (roads and foot paths). The rapid growth in

Kampala City’s population and a resurgence of economic activities has resulted in significant volumes of

vehicular traffic and increased traffic congestion at key locations throughout the urban road network

(Matagi, 2002). According to the Registrar of Vehicles, the number of vehicles registered every month in

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1994, 1995 and 1996 were 3,000, 96,211 and 120,000, respectively. Petrol consumption rose from

199,784,000 litres in 2000 to 208,665,000 litres in 2003 (UBOS, 2003). It is important to mention that

until 2003, Uganda was using leaded fuel. In 1992 alone, 468 metric tonnes of lead were released into the

environment from vehicular exhaust fumes (Matagi, 2002). The presence of heavy metal pollution in

Kampala City has increased over time. Using lichens as bio-indicators, Nyangaboba (1987) found heavy

metal pollution levels per dry weight as follows: cadmium 4.94mg g21, lead 246mg g21, iron

13,400mg g21, and nickel 79.6mg g21. The most heavily polluted areas followed a pattern that

corresponded with the Kampala City road network, industrial areas and slum areas, namely Kisenyi and

Katwe. The slum areas of Kisenyi and Katwe are also home to most car repair garages. Chemical wastes

from the car repairs are dumped into streams that consequently feed into Murchison Bay. In addition, the

drainage systems in Kampala City are in a sorry state. The financial resources are lacking to repair

existing drains or construct new drainage infrastructure to direct surface runoff to collection and

treatment sites.

3.2.6. Housing development. Poverty and high rates of migration into the Kampala urban area has

resulted in a rapid growth in the numbers of sub-standard housing. It is estimated that approximately

75% of the population in Kampala City live in slum areas which are highly congested and lack both

sanitation and drainage facilities. For example, the majority of the slum dwellings surrounding the

Nakivubo wetland are not connected to the municipal sewer system. Up to 80,000 households discharge

domestic wastes into the wetland as runoff into the surface waters, which enter various wetlands that

feed into the lake. These activities pollute the streams feeding in to Murchison Bay. It suffices to note

that water quality in streams is not monitored by an established institution in Uganda.

3.2.7. Industrialization. An increase in population coupled with industrialization in the study area has

exacerbated water pollution problems. For example, Namanve forest has been modified into an industrial

park and part of the Kinawataka wetland has been reclaimed and today houses four inland car ports

among other businesses, while the remaining part of Kinawataka wetland is the receiving environment

for wastewater from at least four industrial sites, namely, one confectionery factory, two fish processing

plants and one soft drinks plant. The Nakivubo wetland is the receiving environment of wastewater from

at least five industrial sites. Table 1 summarizes the pollution loading (kg day21) from selected

industries discharging wastewater into the Kinawataka and Nakivubo wetlands, which consequently

feed into Murchison Bay.

3.2.8. Lack of adequate waste disposal facilities. The pollution generated by the above activities can be

partially mitigated by construction of adequate solid and liquid waste disposal facilities. These facilities

are, however, not adequate. Consequently, the poor disposal of large quantities of both solid and liquid

domestic sewage and industrial wastes into the relatively small water streams that eventually join and

drain into Murchison Bay aggravates water pollution problems. It is estimated that pollution sources

around Kampala City amounting to about 6.34 tonnes of Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), 1.5 tonnes

of nitrogen and 1 tonne of phosphorus are discharged daily to Lake Victoria, while 2 tonnes of BOD,

0.25 tonnes of nitrogen and 0.13 tonnes of phosphorus are discharged daily from 124 fishing shoreline

settlements with a total population of 92,000; additionally, fishing shoreline settlements have less than

20% of pit latrine coverage, and hence most human waste is discharged directly into Lake Victoria

(Okwerede et al., 2005).

E. N. Banadda et al. / Water Policy 11 Supplement 1 (2009) 93–104 99

4. Interventions aimed at reducing water pollution in the Murchison Bay catchment area

This section presents what the Uganda government and other stakeholders have done to reduce water

pollution.

4.1. Institutional and governance strategic choices

4.1.1. Strengthen national development/institutional frameworks. Uganda has developed

complementary organizations and/or strengthened existing organizations to cope with increased

environmental degradation and threat. A sustainable development approach has been introduced to the

environmental, agricultural, livestock and water sectors. The establishment and strengthening of the

National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) has been instrumental in raising awareness of

environmental concerns and opportunities. Programs such as the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture

Development Programme (CAADP) Uganda programme and the National Wetland Program have been

instrumental in reducing non-point pollution. The government has also promoted integrated approaches

through the coordination of activities within the National Action Plan framework for effective and

efficient resource utilization, targeting sustainable land and water management.

4.1.2. Water policy reform. To address the emerging water pollution threats, the government has

undertaken land and water policy reform in a way that leads to sustainable and equitable development.

This has gone hand in hand with the necessary political support for the enforcement of land and water

related laws.

An important lesson that Uganda could learn from experiences in the developed world is the need to

separate the duties and responsibility of regulating water quality with those of achieving water standards.

As it is now, NEMA carries out both duties, being both gamekeeper and poacher at the same time. From

this it is clear that institutional, legal and technocrat problems have to be sorted out as a way to improve

water quality in Murchison Bay.

4.1.3. Land policy reform. The 1998 Land Act gave responsibility for managing land resources to the

districts and empowered them to manage all land-related issues in their respective areas. The Act also

gave authority to people to claim ownership of land that they have used or lived on for 13 years or more.

This is a threat to sustainable forest management, especially as some users claimed ownership of forest

reserve land that they had used for more than 13 years. In particular, it is a problem in forest reserves

where boundaries have not been marked clearly. In some cases private ownership of land leads to the

depletion of forests; this looks likely to continue unless private land owners are made aware of the

importance of their forests and helped to improve their farming methods.

4.1.4. Political will. One of the biggest problems countries like Uganda face is that some of the key

institutional decisions aimed at protecting the environment are undermined by politicians for political

gain. The politicizing of institutional decisions has undermined efforts to improve water quality in

Murchison Bay. Like many developing countries in Africa, Uganda still has a long way to go in regard to

institutional development. The successive wars and unstable governments in Uganda since

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independence in 1962 have had a serious toll on institutional development. Politicians have begun to

appreciate that institutional development is a continuous process, building on the experiences of earlier

organizations.

4.1.5. Law enforcement. Although considerable investments have been made in improving law

enforcement, the fines are still too low. An example of this is in the forest sector, where the law has not

been updated to reflect current realities and thus much of the 1961 Forest Act is still in force today. The

Act includes rules and regulations for sustainable forest management and prescribes penalties for

contravention of the Act, but those penalties are now so ridiculously low that they are no deterrent to

illegal activities. For example, for cutting more than allowed, the fine is Ush 2,500 or imprisonment for

6 months, regardless of the quantity of roundwood cut. From 1964 to 1971 this fine was equivalent to

US$ 375, but is now equal only to about US$ 1.40. Thus, the fine is very easy to pay and it encourages

people to over-cut the forest. Additionally, the Public Service Reform and Restructuring Exercise of the

early 1990s led to the depletion of human resources in the forestry sector, and there is now a staff

shortage of 154 forest rangers, 284 forest guards and 25 forest officers. This has led to very weak

protection of the forest estate, a lack of extension services, and illegal activities. However, the National

Forest Authority and the Uganda Wildlife Authority have begun programmes where revenues from

visiting groups to their areas of jurisdiction are shared with neighboring communities. This is an

incentive to the local community to protect resources as their own.

4.2. Economic and financial strategic choices

4.2.1. Financial and technical support for decentralization of responsibilities to district and local

institutions. The establishment and support of environmental services needs to be reflected in

budget allocation. The government is working to achieve this through approaches that empower local

communities and district officials, and enable them to address environmental problems at the most

appropriate levels.

4.2.2. Integration of the poverty strategic programme with sustainable development approach. This

strategy addresses economic and financial incentives that support livelihoods dependent on natural

resources and agricultural/rural development. National economic recovery strategy is largely based on

sound environmental policy which supports sustainable agriculture and management of natural

resources. A fair share of government resources are directed at programs and projects that support

sustainable development practices.

4.3. Technological and knowledge choices

4.3.1. Support sustainable agricultural practices that conserve natural resources. Promotion of

Conservation Agriculture (CA) is strongly recommended for its unique contribution to sustainable

agricultural development. CA approaches that embrace researcher-extension-farmer linkage for

up-scaling sustainable land and water management practices are being promoted in the catchment.

E. N. Banadda et al. / Water Policy 11 Supplement 1 (2009) 93–104 101

4.3.2. Soil nutrient management and fertility. On-going activities entail controlling soil erosion

problems, use of organic/farm manure and green manure, use of cover crops, and introduction of

nitrogen fixing plants.

4.3.3. Irrigation and water management. Promotion of water lifting technologies, water harvesting,

rehabilitation of smallholder irrigation schemes, and national capacity for sustainable smallholder

irrigation technologies may be a win-win situation where food security and livelihood support go hand in

hand with sustainable land management.

4.3.4. Rangeland management and livestock management. Given the high vulnerability of forest,

grassland and wetland ecosystems from human-induced land degradation, preventive, restoration and

control measures are critical investment areas. Investment in land-use planning is an effective strategy to

minimize negative environmental impacts from ad hoc settlements and encroachment of cultivations in

key production areas. Other potential areas of investment in sustainable livestock management include:

(a) policy reforms to define land tenure and community property rights; (b) participatory community land

use planning; (c) investment in natural resources -based conflict resolution mechanisms; (d) protection of

wetlands key production areas against conversion to agriculture; (e) livestock productivity improvement

and rationalized water development activities; and (f) the development of a livestock marketing

infrastructure to facilitate livestock off-take to control overstocking and overgrazing problems.

4.3.5. Setting standards. Uganda has taken a sound and sensible route to improve environmental

conditions. NEMA has set Ugandan standards for water courses and effluents. There are, however, fears

that undue haste in adopting standards which are currently too high can lead to the use of inappropriate

technology in pursuit of unattainable or unaffordable objectives and, in doing so, produce an unsustainable

system. Some wonder whether the standards set are attainable given the current levels of poverty,

inadequate waste handling facilities and weak enforcement. Would it be better to set appropriate and

affordable standards, and then have a phased approach to improve standards as and when affordable?

4.4. Social and behavioural choices

Investment in education and local organizations has been identified as the most effective way of

dealing with social and behavioural change.

4.4.1. Education. The education sector plays a vital role in promoting sustainable development through

capacity building of the population in various skills, as well as raising awareness on various issues of

national importance and improving general standards of living. In this respect, the need for quality and

affordable education in Uganda cannot be overemphasized. There has been a remarkable change in this

sector over the past years since the introduction of a new Uganda government initiative, Universal

Primary Education (UPE), in 1997. Enrolment in all institutions has drastically increased and thus more

schools, institutions, colleges and universities have sprung up. UPE was implemented with the

intention of broadening access to primary schooling. Enrolment increased from 6.9 million pupils in

2001 to 7.4 million pupils in 2004, representing an increase of 7% (UBOS, 2006b). As of 2007, primary

and secondary school education are free of charge. This is undoubtedly a step in the right direction that

will boost efforts to control water pollution problems, amongst others.

E. N. Banadda et al. / Water Policy 11 Supplement 1 (2009) 93–104102

4.4.2. Empowering local organizations. Government and non-government organizations are contri-

buting to the empowerment of farmer organizations. Community Based Organizations (CBOs) and

nongovernmental organizations with information on sustainable natural resources management

help change the mindset of land-users. The participation of religious institutions has been shown

to be critical in educating land-users on good land stewardship principles, in accordance with the

accepted moral norms. Investment in strengthening governance/leadership of community-based

organizations to deal with issues of conflict management, education and community health has

contributed enormously.

5. Balancing economic development and environmental conservation

Uganda like many developing countries continues to encounter numerous trade-off in balancing

economic development and environmental conservation. These trade-offs include budgetary allocation

for economic development and environmental conservation could be critical for pollution control and

water management strategies.

6. Conclusions and implications

In this paper, we have discussed how land degradation induced by deforestation, wetland

transformation, overgrazing, an individualistic land ownership policy, poor housing, careless crop

production, horticulture practices and poor traffic networks have all had a marked impact on the

pollution of water in Murchison Bay, through soil erosion and transport of suspended solids and

contaminants. Current and historical facts presented here provide evidence that Uganda has entered a

domain of increased socio-economical and environmental changes, which impact on water quality.

These dramatic changes must be controlled in order to protect and preserve land and water resources for

a fast growing population in Uganda.

According to this study, pollution from non-point sources is higher than that from point sources. The

landscape and land-use patterns around the Kampala City borders and Murchison Bay contribute to this

observation. Uganda needs an integrated management approach to land-based nonpoint source pollution,

to reverse the deteriorating water quality in Lake Victoria in general, and Murchison Bay in particular.

Uganda could avert the deteriorating water quality trends by taking a lead from other parts of the world.

Amongst other things, Uganda needs to set realistic local standards, offer affordable services, set time

frameworks, streamline policies, nurture and develop institutions, divide institutional responsibilities,

and educate her people. This will require urgent action from local, national and international

communities at an educational, scientific and political level.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank SIDA through Lake Victoria Research (VicRes) for supporting us

financially.

E. N. Banadda et al. / Water Policy 11 Supplement 1 (2009) 93–104 103

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