THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA FIFTH NATIONAL REPORT TO THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY MINISTRY OF WATER AND ENVIRONMENT MARCH 2014 Fifth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity – Uganda March 2014 Page 1 Copy Right: National Environment Management Authority Citation: NEMA (2014): Fifth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Kampala, Uganda ISBN: 978-9970-881-08-6 EDITORIAL TEAM Sabino Francis Ogwal Editor In-Chief Daniel Babikwa (PhD) Technical Editor Esther Katuura (PhD) Technical Editor Festus Bagoora (PhD) Technical Editor Margaret Aanyu Technical Editor Ronald Kaggwa Technical Editor Christine Akello Technical Editor Jennifer Naiga Technical Editor Aaron Werikhe Technical Editor Elizabeth Mutayanjulwa Editor/design Monique Akullo Editor Fifth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity – Uganda March 2014 Page 2 THE WORKING GROUP FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE FIFTH NATIONAL REPORT Overall Coordinator Sabino Francis Ogwal Part I: Biodiversity status, trends, and threats and implications for human well-being. Esther Katuura (PhD) Team Leader Akankwasa Barirega Member Issa Katwesige Member Aggrey Rwetsiba Member Justine Namara Member Innocent Akampurira Member Norah Namakambo Member Leone Candia Member Owesigyere George Member Sabino Francis Ogwal Member Michael Opige Member Part II: The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, its implementation, and the mainstreaming of biodiversity Sabino Francis Ogwal Team Leader Beatrice Adimola Member Monique Akullo Member Dr. Evelyn Lutalo Member Part III: Progress towards the 2015 and 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets and contributions to the relevant 2015 Targets of the Millennium Development Goals Ronald Kaggwa Team Leader Aaron Werikhe Member James Elungat Member Fred Onyai Member Moses Masiga Member Sabino Francis Ogwal Member Junior Musinguzi Member Climate Change Muhammad Semambo Member Mugarura Michael Member Fifth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity – Uganda March 2014 Page 3 FOREWORD Uganda ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on 8th September 1993. Article 26 of the Convention requires Parties to the Convention, at intervals determined by the Conference of the Parties (COP), to prepare and present to COP reports on the measures which the country has taken in the implementation of the provisions of the Convention and their effectiveness in meeting the objectives of the Convention namely: the conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of biodiversity and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources. The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) is National Focal Point for CBD and thus provides overall coordination in the implementation of CBD and preparation of reports under the Convention including National Reports. To-date Uganda has prepared four National Reports as follows: The first national report in January1998, the second national report in May 2001; the third national report in January 2006 and the fourth national report in May 2009. These reports can be viewed at http://www.cbd.int/reports and www.chm.nemaug.org. The focus of national reporting is to assess implementation of the CBD at the national to provide information on outcomes that the COP is able to use to assess the status of implementation of the CBD, identify issues that need to be addressed, and provide appropriate guidance to countries and relevant organizations to enhance national implementation. The preparation of the 5th National Report has been completed and it involved wide stakeholder consultations comprising of Government ministries, departments and agencies; academia and research institutions, Indigenous and Local Communities, Civil Society Organizations, Non Governmental Organizations, the private sector and the media. The report highlights some of the key achievements, outcomes, new and emerging issues since the fourth national report that was prepared in May 2009. Key challenges, lessons learnt and opportunity to address the challenges are also highlighted in the report. Preparation of this report was informed by technical reports prepared by Thematic Working Groups during the stock-taking of baseline information for the review and updating of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action (NBSAP) for Uganda. The reports were categorized into the following: a) Biodiversity status, trends, and threats and implications for human wellbeing; b) NBSAP implementation and the mainstreaming of biodiversity; c) Progress towards the 2015 and 2020 Aichi Targets and contributions to the relevant 2015 Targets of the Millennium Development Goals; and d) Status of biotechnology and biosafety in Uganda. The above reports will be produced and disseminated as technical series (the first of its kind in Uganda) to inform and create awareness among decision makers and public on the importance of biodiversity. Fifth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity – Uganda March 2014 Page 4 I thank the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for providing the funds which made it possible for Government of Uganda to prepare the Fifth National Report. I further extend appreciation to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for assisting Uganda to access the funds from GEF and for the technical assistance rendered during the preparation of the report. Unlike previous National Reports that were prepared by consultants, the Fifth National Report was prepared by a Working Group comprised of experts that were part of the Thematic Working Group that carried out the stock-taking for the review and updating of the NBSAP for Uganda. The CBD National Focal Point coordinated and provided guidance during the whole process. The Working Group that prepared the Fifth National Report did not have to carry out a separate activity for obtaining baseline information/data because this was already generated by the Thematic Working Group for the review and updating of the NBSAP. The task of the Working Group was thus to analyse and package the information already available in the various sections of the Fifth National Report. Quality assurance was the responsibility of the CBD National Focal Point. This approach was very successful. Lastly Government of Uganda remains committed to promoting the conservation and sustainable use of Uganda‟s rich biodiversity for sustainable national development, green growth and wealth creation for livelihood improvement and protection of ecosystems and ecosystem services for the present and future generations. Dr. Tom .O. Okurut EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY Fifth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity – Uganda March 2014 Page 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) coordinated the preparation of the Fifth National Report on behalf of Government of Uganda. Financial support for this activity was from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Additional financial support was from the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) that specifically focused on mainstreaming biodiversity into development planning. NEMA, on behalf of Government, is grateful to GEF, UNEP and IIED for the financial support. Uganda benefited from the capacity building workshops that was carried out by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD) to provide knowledge on how to prepare the Fifth National Report. The knowledge acquired from those workshops was used by the CBD National Focal Point Mr. Sabino Francis Ogwal to guide the preparation of the Fifth National Report by a Working Group (Annex 1). The Secretariat of the CBD is commended for conducting the Capacity Building Workshop. NEMA is grateful to the Working Group for preparing the Fifth National Report for Uganda on behalf of Government. The group worked tirelessly to deliver this report. The Working Group comprised of technical officers from Government ministries, departments and agencies as well as NGOs involved in biodiversity management. Members of the Working were drawn from the Thematic Working Group (Annex 3) that carried out stock-taking for the review and updating of the NBSAP for Uganda. The basis for this was to use the capacity that had been built for the review and updating of NBSAP and also to facilitate flow and sharing of information generated from the stock-taking. NEMA extends appreciation to all stakeholders who contributed information and comments that were used by the Working Group to revise and refine this report. This made it possible for the report to capture useful information that would have been omitted in the report. The Technical Committee on Biodiversity Conservation (Annex 2) provided overall technical guidance during the preparation of the Fifth National Report. Their input was critical and helped the Working Group to address gaps. NEMA commends members of the Committee for their support and dedication. The preparation of this report required effective coordination and guidance on the COP decisions for preparation of the Fifth National Report. This task was ably carried out by the CBD National Focal Point. He was assisted by Ms Monique Akullo and Junior Musinguzi who were NBSAP Project Officer and NBSAP Project Assistant respectively. Fifth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity – Uganda March 2014 Page 6 ACRONYMS ABS Access to Genetic Resources