Poor communities rely on ecosystems for safe drinking water, nourishment and for earning a living. In Rushebeya – Kanyabaha, the ecosystem includes wetland streams, rivers, open water bodies and the beautiful, hilly scenery. However, there is no judicious sharing of benefits between sellers and buyers of environmental services.
A wetland in western Uganda. PHOTO/Nature Harness Initiatives
The Rushebeya – Kanyabaha, wetland not only benefits human beings but also acts as a habitat for animals and birds. The most common animal is popularly known as Ejobe (Sitatunga or Marshbuck). As you move around the area, you cannot fail to notice Uganda’s most beautiful and elegant bird – the Crested Crane.
Seven parishes share this wetland and all benefit in one way or the other. People carry out beekeeping as well as growing Irish potatoes, cabbages, sorghum and apples in the cool climate. The wetland provides raw material for basketry, mat weaving and thatching of roofs. The wetland is a blessing in such away that people collect local herbs to cure and treat illnesses like malaria. It is a source of water for animals in the area. Many people have benefited from its fish ponds and wells.
The wetland not only benefits the natives but also people outside Kabale such as those from the Ugandan towns of Kampala, Masaka and Mbarara and across the border from Rwanda, who all go to the area for mudfish. More so, the wetland is the source of River Ruboroga that runs to Rukungiri, where it generates hydro-electric power for Kisiizi Hospital and its neighbors.
Despite these ecosystem benefits, the relationship between the environment and the people is poor. The community has made intensive use of the wetland for most of its needs resulting in degradation. A local resident, Ms Tushemerirwe, who is in her early fifties, says that at one time, the wetland was cleared for farming leading to its drying. Since the wetland is important for micro climate, Ms Tushemerirwe lamented, “Tukaba tuhwireho akabeho tutakikabona, ekiho kikabura twahendera turi kudwara emishwija.” (Our lives were at a great danger because of damage to the wetland making a big number of us suffer from diseases).
Poor farming methods, such as bush burning, have exposed most of the soils to erosion. As communities carry out deforestation on the hillsides, water erosion destroys crops at the valley bottoms leaving already poverty-stricken farmers with no harvest.
There is increasing stress on ecosystems due to population increase. There is hardly enough land for farming because of land fragmentation. Due to these factors people have turned to the precious wetland to construct homes and to farm. Continuous cultivation on the same portion of land without fallow periods diminishes soil nutrients leading to a loss of natural soil fertility.
Another yet captivating story is one of hunters. The natives in this area have a belief that hunters are very anti-social people only comfortable with their spears and the miserable dogs they use when hunting. It was on a bright, lucky day that I came across one who was willing to share his interesting experience. He concealed his name despite allowing us to interact with him. This is because hunters fear that, at any moment, they can fall into the arms of the authority and put behind bars.
The hunter group is not registered but it comprises of sixty members who carry out their business every Tuesday and Friday. The goat-sized Sitatunga is the main target though the gentleman at first refused to say how many they catch. He later on disclosed that on a blessed day, they can catch three. In return this prey is shared with the biggest portion going to the one who hit the animal first. When asked whether Sitatunga is getting depleted, he answered, “Eeeehh arazaara nkentaama tekabasa kuhwaho,” meaning, “the Sitatunga is very fertile and therefore it can never be extinct!”
I was stunned when a local chief at Kitanga expressed support for this lucrative activity. He said that Sitatunga ruins their farms therefore hunting it is a relief to farmers.
Nature Harness Initiatives (NAHI), a PRESA partner, is active in Rushebeya-Kanyabaha. NAHI has already conducted a preliminary survey on the development of appropriate reward mechanisms [PDF, 770KB] in this particular wetland landscape (Kabale District) and the Wambabya riverline forest system (Hoima District).
Mildred Atukunda was a PRESA intern working with NAHI in Uganda.Location of the Kabale District
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