Analysis Of Uganda S Wildlife Policies And Laws

Uganda has a very strong wildlife policy and the government is committed towards wildlife conservation and protection and fighting wildlife crime. Uganda is a party to various international conventions that provide for the conservation in wildlife, regulation of trade in wildlife and wildlife products, proper law enforcement and anti‐corruption initiatives. Being a party to these instruments demonstrates Uganda’s commitment to meet international standards in protection of wildlife and reduction of wildlife crime in the country. However, even with a strong policy and commitment to international standards, wildlife crime still occurs in Uganda that is a serious threat to the survival of some key iconic species in the country. One of the reasons is that the wildlife legislation and other laws do not reflect the standards set in the policy or the international requirements. Uganda is working towards review of its laws to catch up with its policies and international standards and hopefully this will address the gap and weaknesses in the wildlife legislation.

Ethiopia is committed to wildlife conservation and has in place a wildlife policy and strategy that guides the administration of the wildlife sector. This policy is translated into legislation for purposes of making its provisions enforceable. There is legislation that establishes the institutional framework of the wildlife sector and legislation that regulates the wildlife sector. The wildlife legislation has strong provisions that address wildlife crime and wildlife trafficking but it also has gaps that need to be sealed in order to successfully administer and adjudicate over wildlife cases. Ethiopia is quite strong in complying with international standards that address wildlife crime including standards on reduction of wildlife trade, fighting of organized criminal groups, curbing money laundering and fighting corruption. The effectiveness of the legislation cannot be accurately gauged as there is lack of consistent and reliable data on wildlife cases.

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this book provides ready access to legislation and practice concerning the environment in Uganda. A general introduction covers geographic considerations, political, social and cultural aspects of environmental study, the sources and principles of environmental law, environmental legislation, and the role of public authorities. The main body of the book deals first with laws aimed directly at protecting the environment from pollution in specific areas such as air, water, waste, soil, noise, and radiation. Then, a section on nature and conservation management covers protection of natural and cultural resources such as monuments, landscapes, parks and reserves, wildlife, agriculture, forests, fish, subsoil, and minerals. Further treatment includes the application of zoning and land-use planning, rules on liability, and administrative and judicial remedies to environmental issues. There is also an analysis of the impact of international and regional legislation and treaties on environmental regulation. Its succinct yet scholarly nature, as well as the practical quality of the information it provides, make this book a valuable resource for environmental lawyers handling cases affecting Uganda. Academics and researchers, as well as business investors and the various international organizations in the field, will welcome this very useful guide, and will appreciate its value in the study of comparative environmental law and policy.

Tanzania is one of the most bio‐diverse countries on the African continent with a long history of conservation. The Tanzanian government remains committed to conserving wildlife resources and their habitats. Legislation on wildlife conservation in Tanzania dates as far back as the 1890’s and from that time, it has been transformed to address modern day challenges and changing wildlife conservation methods. Tanzania is also a party to various international instruments including CITES, UNCAC and UNCTOC. These instruments make provisions for parties to enact legislation that will enhance wildlife law enforcement. They include provisions on regulation of wildlife trade, prevention of organized crime and money laundering and addressing corruption. Tanzania has domesticated these provisions by enacting various pieces of legislation including anti‐money laundering laws, prevention of organized crime laws and anti‐corruption laws. These laws support the main wildlife legislation in providing harsher penalties for wildlife offences and addressing corruption as a driver of wildlife crimes. Despite all the policy and legislative efforts made by Tanzania to prevent wildlife crime, there has been a worrying loss of wildlife in the recent past. This has been attributed to high demand for wildlife products in Asia, poverty in Tanzania that incentivises wildlife crime, penetration of organised criminal groups into Tanzania and corruption in law enforcement. Tanzania has been working to overcome these challenges and has seen wildlife poaching and trafficking kingpins arrested and handed very hefty penalties which will hopefully deter other wildlife offenders.

Botswana has a long history of wildlife conservation dating back to 1890 when the first game protection statute was enacted. Since that time, wildlife policies and laws have been developed to address increased threats to wildlife, especially poaching and trafficking in wildlife products. Botswana now has in place various strategies and policies on wildlife conservation and management which guide the enactment of wildlife legislation. The key wildlife law is the Wildlife Conservation and National parks Act enacted in 1992. The Act sets out the institutional and administrative framework of the wildlife. There are strong provisions that strictly regulate wildlife conservation and utilization and address wildlife crime and wildlife law enforcement. Nevertheless, there are still some gaps that exist within the law that need to be sealed in order to effectively curb wildlife crime. Botswana is quite robust in adopting international standards to address wildlife crime and has enacted legislation to stop illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products and deter profiting from wildlife crime by confiscating proceeds of crime and criminalizing money laundering. Legislation to curb corruption among public officials, including those who deal with wildlife matters, is in place and its rigorous enforcement has led to Botswana being one of the least corrupt countries in Africa. The effectiveness of the wildlife legislation in Botswana cannot be accurately gauged as there is little information on the number of wildlife crimes committed and the conviction rates of wildlife offenders.

Climate change is expected to bring new challenges and opportunities for the livelihoods of rural communities in Uganda, where more than 80% of the population depends on rain-fed agriculture. The purpose of this review was to analyze national policies on climate change adaptation, agriculture, forests, management of forested and agroforested landscape ecosystems and their goods and services, and the roles of stakeholders in the national arena. Recognizing the role of forest cover in climate change mitigation and adaptation, this review is based on stakeholder engagement and analysis of published literature on the policy, institutional and socioeconomic drivers of forest cover change around Mount Elgon. The bulk of Uganda’s forests are on land under private ownership and deforestation has occurred mainly in such forests. Several national laws and international conventions ratified by Uganda offer a framework under which forests are managed. Management of protected forests is shared between central and local authorities. Several natural resource policies are likely to have significant unintended impacts that may enable or limit the adaptation of stakeholders and ecosystems to climate change. The current climate change policy, which is an overarching document that addresses climate change in Uganda, suggests that policy responses, either sector specific or crosscutting in nature, be harmonized in order to better address the challenges associated with climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Uganda has extensive protected areas and iconic wildlife (including mountain gorillas), which exist within a complex social and political environment. In recent years Uganda has been seen as a test bed and model case study for numerous and varied approaches to address complex and connected conservation and development challenges. This volume reviews and assesses these initiatives, collecting new research and analyses both from emerging scholars and well-established academics in Uganda and around the globe. Approaches covered range from community-based conservation to the more recent proliferation of neoliberalised interventions based on markets and payments for ecosystem services. Drawing on insights from political ecology, human geography, institutional economics, and environmental science, the authors explore the challenges of operationalising truly sustainable forms of development in a country whose recent history is characterised by a highly volatile governance and development context. They highlight the stakes for vulnerable human populations in relation to of large and growing socioeconomic inequalities, as well as for Uganda’s rich, unique, and globally significant biodiversity. They illustrate the conflicts that occur between competing claims of conservation, agriculture, tourism, and the energy and mining industries. Crucially, the book draws out lessons that can be learned from the Ugandan experience for conservation and development practitioners and scholars around the world.

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this book provides ready access to legislation and practice concerning the environment in Uganda. A general introduction covers geographic considerations, political, social and cultural aspects of environmental study, the sources and principles of environmental law, environmental legislation, and the role of public authorities. The main body of the book deals first with laws aimed directly at protecting the environment from pollution in specific areas such as air, water, waste, soil, noise, and radiation. Then, a section on nature and conservation management covers protection of natural and cultural resources such as monuments, landscapes, parks and reserves, wildlife, agriculture, forests, fish, subsoil, and minerals. Further treatment includes the application of zoning and land-use planning, rules on liability, and administrative and judicial remedies to environmental issues. There is also an analysis of the impact of international and regional legislation and treaties on environmental regulation. Its succinct yet scholarly nature, as well as the practical quality of the information it provides, make this book a valuable resource for environmental lawyers handling cases affecting Uganda. Academics and researchers, as well as business investors and the various international organizations in the field, will welcome this very useful guide, and will appreciate its value in the study of comparative environmental law and policy.