Nabajjuzi wetland, a Ramsar site, is located in Masaka district central Uganda some 120km southwest of Kampala. Nabajjuzi wetland remains relatively intact despite a long history of resource extraction by local communities. However growing use of wetland products for commercial purposes as well as subsistence use has led to increased levels of harvesting. Some of the surrounding areas have been modified and are built up into trading centres and small towns and this has further caused an increase in demand for resources.
Dansk Ornitologisk Forening (DOF) and BirdLife partners in the South (Nature Kenya, Nature Uganda and Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN)), are running a three-year project that began in 2015. The project places a strong emphasis on promoting equality of women and their access to programme benefits and participation, addressing inclusion of indigenous and other marginalised groups, networking and strengthened influence of local civil society groups_and advocacy within the national contexts of programme partner countries.
Bussi Island is located in the Wakiso district, which suffers a deforestation rate of 86.7 percent. The leading cause of deforestation is the increased demand for agricultural land, charcoal and fuel wood by a rapidly growing population. The majority of villagers often cook using the three-brick/stone method, which requires massive consumption of firewood, increases carbon emissions and has serious consequences for people's health. Over time, women that use this method of cooking may suffer blurred vision and lung disease.
People living in the Lake Victoria Basin face urgent health, environmental, and economic challenges. They need the power to access sexual and reproductive health services and manage their natural resources sustainably. In two districts in Uganda and two counties in Kenya, the Health of People and Environment in Lake Victoria Basin (HoPE-LVB) Project is making sure they can.
BirdLife Partners from Kenya (NatureKenya), Uganda (NatureUganda), Rwanda (Association pour la Conservation de la Nature au Rwanda) and Burundi (Association Burundaise pour la Protection des Oiseaux) are implementing a project in the Lake Victoria Basin which aims to empower local organizations so that they are better equipped to address the linked challenges of poverty and biodiversity loss. Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake, and the largest tropical lake in the world. The swamps, forests and islands in and around Lake Victoria are important for a diversity of wildlife.
Since the launch of the Health of People and the Environment in the Lake Victoria Basin (HoPE-LVB) project, staff and partners have engaged key district, national and regional health and environment officials in Kenya and Uganda. In this project, HoPE-LVB partners with community-level champions to spread the word about the benefits of the PHE approach. Champions were selected by the communities themselves to speak publicly about the project and PHE and promote the integrated approach to local governments and other development projects.
Despite the efforts conservationists trying to protect and conserve indigenous plant and animal life in Eastern Africa, the destruction of natural habitats is continuing. In many cases this destruction leaves behind degraded sites which require replacement of lost elements of the original ecosystem. Habitat restoration techniques can now be employed to repair damage to the diversity and dynamics of original ecosystem processes that sustain life on earth. The need for habitats restoration is one of the key areas of activities recommended in the Convention on Biological Diversity.