Skip to main content

UGANDA CONTINUES TO WITNESS THE RAPID LOSS AND DETERIORATION OF ITS NATURAL RESOURCE BASE (FORESTS, WILDLIFE, FISHERIES, GRAZING, SOIL AND WATER) AND, THEREFORE, ITS OPTIONS AND CHANCES FOR LONG-TERM, SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. 

At present, the nation is in a situation in which its people are compelled to destroy those very natural resources which are necessary to relieve them of hunger, disease and poverty . . : those same resources required for successful national development. To escape this dilemma, Uganda must do far more to conserve and rehabilitate its natural resources and, most importantly, to integrate conservation with development.

2. SUCCESSFUL.SUSTAINABLEECONOMICDEVELOPMENTCANNOT
BE ATTAINED IF ECOLOGICAL GUIDELINES AND. CONSIDERATIONS ARE IGNORED. Recognizing this fact, Uganda is currently formulating its National Conservation strategy; the proposed goals of. which are 'to:

a. ensure the-sustainable use of Uganda's natural resources;

b. preserve the genetic diversity of Uganda;

c. maintain essential ecological processes;

d. use natural resources to satisfy the material, spiritual and cultural needs of all the people of Uganda, both present and future generations.

TROPICAL MOIST FOREST CONSERVATION. The tropical moist forest is the oldest and biologically most complex, richest, and least understood biome on earth. While covering, only 6 per cent of the world's land surface, the tropical moist forest houses 50 to 65 per cent of its five to ten million species of plants and animals. Yet the tropical moist forest is being destroyed and disrupted by human activities more rapidly than any other biome. Much that is irreplaceable is disappearing every hour, and mankind is only beginning to realize and experience the long-term detrimental impact of these losses.

One of the most urgent and important challenges during the next decade is to reverse this reckless and irresponsible trend. There can be no doubt that should we fail, all of mankind will suffer.

Publication Year
1984