Navigating Through Complexity: Profiling the main threats to Sustainable Tropical Wetlands Management and its Implications to livelihoods welfare and ecosystem governance: A Case Study of Mityana District, Uganda

Wetlands are crucial ecosystems that promote sustainable livelihood and biodiversity conservation, especially in tropical regions. However, recent studies have reported increasing threats to wetlands both environmental and human which threaten the provision and acquisition of several wetland benefits. Though there is recognition of the value of wetlands, in most local communities, there is limited knowledge and research on the benefits of wetlands and the level of threat thus affecting wetland governance. This research addresses this gap by conducting participatory research to create a baseline inventory that identifies the main wetlands and threats to inform policy. The study was conducted in 14 sub-counties and a sample of 105 wetlands along the wetlands of Lake Wamala and River Mayanja wetlands system in Mityana District was captured. The field data was collected from 150 respondents. Study findings found that there is an increasing human threat to wetlands especially in the River Mayanja seasonal wetlands and the level of damage/threat on Lake Wamala wetlands. Respondents further reported an increasing threat of environmental drivers such as climate change. Since the level of damage to wetlands in Mityana especially the permanent wetlands is relatively low, we recommend a focus on capacity building, development of wetlands action plans, increased support to local wetland authorities, and a system thinking approach in wetland threat identification and management.