This component, to be led by the National
Environment Management Authority (NEMA) will support the
integration of protected area management into the wider landscape
in order to secure wildlife corridors and dispersal areas.
This will also result in reduction in hunting pressures. The land
tenure in this area is predominantly "communal land" -owned by the
community and governed by customary law. The customary laws protect
indigenous trees and Village elders enforce the law by forbidding
people in their communities from cutting them. During the
war, however, most people were violently dislocated from their
former communities and sent to internally displaced people's camps.
Elders were dispersed, their powers diluted, and the law (and
bye-laws) protecting the shea tree were disregarded. One of the
ENRP's components is focusing on strengthening land rights for the
returnees. The Shea tree is now protected by a Presidential
Directive issued in 2006 instructing the local Governments to
protect the shea tree due to its economic importance and health
benefits for the people of North-Eastern Uganda. Furthermore, A
National Environmental Police Unit trained by the UK Environmental
Agency is being deployed in the area to improve enforcement and
there are procedures in place for prosecution of environmental
crimes. Last but not least, the Elders are slowly returning and
will need support to reinstate the byelaws.
What is clearly missing and what this project will
contribute is a focus on addressing existing and emerging threats
to biodiversity. To this end, sustainability thresholds will
be established by defining off-take rates for shea tree harvesting;
a management plan will be put in place and enforced; capacity of
local governments will be built to ensure they have the competence
and skills to monitor and enforce laws on sustainable harvests of
shea tree; and measures to improve market access for shea products
will be put in place. Last but not least, the component will seek
to influence infrastructure placement under the PRDP to curtail
future threats to biodiversity in corridors and refugia. This will
be achieved through putting in place a District coordination
mechanism in the project target area to ensure that biodiversity
management in National Parks, and wildlife migration corridors and
dispersal areas is factored into decision-making governing land use
management. Secondly, management plans and regulations geared to
ensuring BD-friendly management in land blocks identified as
critical for wildlife dispersal will be developed and applied by
local governments. A working model for will be piloted in Abim and
Otuke Districts. The component will also support sustainable use of
buffer zones and critical habitats.
