Mountain Partnership

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Uganda

National Committee

The National Environment Management Authority was designated lead agency and a network of individuals and institutions was appointed to form the National Committee for the International Year of Mountains and beyond. The Focal Point contact was Dr. Festus D. K. Bagoora.

Activities and achievements during the International Year of Mountains

International

The 9th Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment was held in Kampala (July). The conference produced the Kampala Declaration on the Environment for Development. This complemented the various joint projects and programmes underway to counter land degradation in African highlands and conserve them for water resources in ranges such as the Eastern Arc Mountains, the Drakensberg, Rwenzori and Fouta Djallon.

The National Environment Management Authority and National Networking Uganda were involved in organizing the African Mountain Focal Points meeting in Lesotho to coincide with the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg.

National

A National Conference on ‘Mountain and Highland Ecosystems of Uganda’ was held at Makerere University in Kampala (3-4 October). The aim of the conference was to make various stakeholders aware of the importance of the sustainable management of the mountain and highland ecosystems and to share information and experiences for enhanced conservation and management efforts.

The National Network organized a parallel meeting for the African Mountain Group at the 9th Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment which was held in Kampala (3-4 July). This meeting aimed to coordinate the efforts of the IYM-African Forum in integrating mountain ecosystem activities in the AMCEN and NEPAD.

Beyond the International Year of Mountains (2002)

Uganda remains very committed to implementing the objectives of the International Year of Mountains and beyond, and the National Networking Group has now been transformed into a National Committee to ensure the continuing participation of key institutions and individuals. The committee continues to hold meetings and consultations on research, conservation and development activities ongoing within the country’s mountains and highlands. The committee now plans to act as a forum to share cross-country experiences so that each country can learn from and build on the experiences of others.

The National Committee is now streamlining activities in Uganda into three broad thematic areas:

  1. Resource assessment and conservation, addressing forests, water, climate, watershed management, biodiversity, soil and land degradation;
  2. Socio-cultural, institutional and legal frameworks for action, addressing culture, gender, conflicts, policy, legislation and education issues;
  3. Economic and livelihood issues, addressing risks and hazards, economy, agriculture and food security, tourism and mining.
  4. Uganda hopes for increased institutional collaboration at home and abroad and plans to commission further research on recent changes to mountain ecosystems, testing of technologies and sustainable management approaches.
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