Browsing by Author "Kato, Stonewall S."

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3

The Challenges of Managing Increasing Landslides Vulnerability in Mount Elgon Ecosystem, Uganda: A Case of Human Interactions With its Environment on the Verge of Collapsing
(2011) Kato, Stonewall S.; Mutonyi, R.
"Mount Elgon ecosystem has experienced a dramatic increase in landslides incidences in the last decade with often catastrophic consequences on settlers who dwell on its steep slopes. Many scientists argue that the problem has been brought by severe environmental degradation coupled with the changing rainfall pattern in the region. The problem has reached human-environmental crisis level with over 350 people buried alive in just one incident in March, 2010. The issue that affects over a million people is of big concern to Uganda government which is now planning to relocate thousands of people to safer places. The guiding question of the paper is to what extend has landslides affected the co-existence of the people and their environment on Mount Elgon. The overriding objective is to determine the possible causes, effects and measures put in place to deal with the problem. We analyze the environmental, socio-economic, livelihood and management indicators to determine the above mentioned variables. We take a snap-shot at enabling legislations being used to guide the process of managing the problem and also examine and compare similar situations happening elsewhere in the world with the view utilizing lessons learnt."
Making Bush Meat Poachers Willingly Surrender Using Integrated Poachers Awareness Programme: A Case of Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda
(2008) Kato, Stonewall S.; Okumu, James Okot
"This paper is an interesting analysis of a unique case in MFPA, one of the East African National Parks in Uganda, where wild animal poachers are targeted in an intensive integrated education and awareness programme that makes them publicly surrender with their tools. The paper brings out yet another important approach that emphasises that for sustainable management of a protected area to be attained, involvement of local community is very important as opposed to the traditional approach of law enforcement, a practice prominent in the last centaury with limited success. MFPA was one of the most tourists' destinations in the 1960s only to be devastated during Uganda's civil unrest of 1970s and 1980s owing to the lack of awareness by the local communities that the resources in the PA are important to them too. "As the wildlife population is steadily increasing in MFPA, any approach such as the above that has demonstrated a positive move towards sustainable management is welcome. It is a strategy, which can be tried in other protected areas especially in the tropics."
The Role of Community Based Institutions in Sustainable Management of Forest, Water and Soil: A Case Study of Mount Elgon Ecosystem, Uganda
(2006) Kato, Stonewall S.; Okumu, James Okot
"This review paper is on the role played by community based institutions in the sustainable management of forest, soil and water in the last two decades at Mount Elgon, Uganda. "The paper explores how the state can create good conditions for community based institutions to participate in natural resource management without itself taking a much active role. The case of Mount Elgon, Uganda is where NGOs and CBOs by default, 'mushroomed' to fill in the gap created by the central government, which had failed to manage the mountain natural resources since 1970. In the early 1990s, the government realized its weakness and put in place good policies and legislation, which made community based institutions to blossom, and without even proper coordination mechanism, yielded a significant positive impact towards the sustainable management of Mount Elgon ecosystem. "The paper evaluates some key indicators used to determine the successes and failures of CBIs. Among them are, the contribution of CBIs to policy and legislative reforms and adherence to good sustainable management principles. The level of capacity building especially in the areas of strengthening of local peoples' rights, negotiation power and self- governance is discussed. Another indicator analyzed is the level of promotion of management of livelihood assets. Also review is level of strengthening financial availability and mechanism towards (un) sustainability. The level of reduction to vulnerability is considered. Promotion of environmental benefits and the contribution by CBIs towards reduction of threats on biodiversity was evaluated "The analysis compared the rich experience of mount Elgon case with related national resource management practices elsewhere. The paper then ends by making some recommendations on the way forward for the management of the ecosystem, which offers good lesson learning for the region and the entire global community."