Analyzing the implications of wetland degradation on livelihoods in Rwizi middle catchment, south western Uganda.

Abstract

Wetland degradation poses a serious problem, not only to the future generations but also to the current communities who either directly or indirectly and consciously or unconsciously use them for deriving their livelihood. This study investigated how wetland degradation has affected livelihoods in the Rwizi middle catchment and developed feasible and suitable mechanisms for the wetland restoration and conservation in addition to the existing ones. Cross sectional design was used during this study. The study characterized the spatial temporal wetland cover changes from 1990-2024, assessed the major drivers of wetland degradation and their relative implications on the livelihoods. Landsat and sentinel 2 images were used to analyze the spatial temporal changes of wetland cover in the area. Landsat images of 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2020 and Sentinel 2 images of 2016 and 2024 were classified using ArcGIS pro. Field verification was conducted to confirm the land use/cover as produced from the classification. Results showed that by 1990, wetland was the leading land cover with 64% followed by grassland at 14%. Other landcover/use such as open water, settlements and agriculture covered 7%, 0.05% and 5% respectively. However, by 2024, wetland cover had drastically reduced to 18% whereas agriculture and settlement had increased to 17% and 19% respectively. Climate change, agriculture especially crop farming, over extraction of wetland resources such as fisheries, water, papyrus reeds and human induced fires were the leading drivers of wetland degradation. The dominant implications of wetland degradation on livelihoods were the decreased water quality and quantity (79%), increased food insecurity (33%) and increased disease outbreaks (7%). The study thus recommended that strategies such as education and sensitization of locals, community-based action plans, nature-based solutions like afforestation and buffer zone management, enhancing indigenous knowledge like planting of native species and community-based monitoring could be adopted for wetland restoration and conservation. Keywords: catchment