Obubu John Peter, Odong Robinson, Alamerew Tena, Fetahi Tadesse, Mengistou Seyoum
African Centre of Excellence for Water Management, Addis Ababa University, P. O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Department of Water Quality Management, Directorate of Water Resources Management, Ministry of Water and Environment, P. O. Box 20026, Kampala, Uganda.
Environ Syst Res (Heidelb). 2022;11(1):11. doi: 10.1186/s40068-022-00254-8. Epub 2022 May 19.
Land use, land cover, and climate change impacts are current global challenges that are affecting many sectors, like agricultural production, socio-economic development, water quality, and causing land fragmentation. In developing countries like Uganda, rural areas with high populations dependent on agriculture are the most affected. The development of sustainable management measures requires proper identification of drivers and impacts on the environment and livelihoods of the affected communities. This study applied drivers, pressure, state, impact, and response model in the L. Kyoga basin to determine the drivers and impacts of land use, land cover, and climate change on livelihoods and the environment. The objective of this study was to determine the drivers and impacts of land use, land cover, and climate changes on the environment and livelihoods in the L. Kyoga basin and suggest sustainable mitigation measures. Focus group discussions, key informant interviews, field observations, and literature reviews were used to collect data. Population increase and climate change were the leading drivers, while agriculture and urbanization were the primary pressures, leading to degraded land, wetlands, and forests; loss of soil fertility, hunger, poverty, poor water quality, which are getting worse. The local communities, government, and non-government institutions had responses to impacts, including agrochemicals, restoration, and conservation approaches. Although most responses were at a small/pilot scale level, most responses had promising results. The application of policies and regulations to manage impacts was also found to be weak. Land use, land cover changes, and climate change occur in the L. Kyoga basin with major impacts on land, water, and community livelihoods. With the observed increase in climate change and population growth, drivers and impacts are potentially getting worse. Therefore, it is essential to expand interventions, provide relief, review policies and regulations, and enforce them. The findings are helpful for decisions and policy-makers to design appropriate management options.
土地利用、土地覆盖和气候变化影响是当前的全球挑战，正在影响许多领域，如农业生产、社会经济发展、水质，并导致土地碎片化。在乌干达等发展中国家，人口高度依赖农业的农村地区受影响最大。制定可持续管理措施需要正确识别驱动因素以及对受影响社区的环境和生计的影响。本研究在基奥加湖流域应用驱动因素、压力、状态、影响和响应模型，以确定土地利用、土地覆盖和气候变化对生计和环境的驱动因素及影响。本研究的目的是确定土地利用、土地覆盖和气候变化对基奥加湖流域环境和生计的驱动因素及影响，并提出可持续的缓解措施。通过焦点小组讨论、关键信息访谈、实地观察和文献综述来收集数据。人口增长和气候变化是主要驱动因素，而农业和城市化是主要压力，导致土地、湿地和森林退化；土壤肥力丧失、饥饿、贫困、水质差，且情况日益恶化。当地社区、政府和非政府机构对这些影响有应对措施，包括使用农用化学品、恢复和保护方法。尽管大多数应对措施处于小规模/试点规模水平，但大多数措施都取得了有希望的成果。还发现管理影响的政策和法规应用薄弱。基奥加湖流域发生土地利用、土地覆盖变化和气候变化，对土地、水和社区生计产生重大影响。随着观察到的气候变化加剧和人口增长，驱动因素和影响可能会变得更糟。因此，扩大干预措施、提供救济、审查并执行政策和法规至关重要。这些研究结果有助于决策者设计合适的管理方案。
