GULU DISTRICT LOCAL GOVERNMENT 2005 DISTRICT s3. · PDF filesanitation, pollution especially ... people can not afford to properly care for the environment and this has ... The district

GULU DISTRICT LOCAL GOVERNMENT

2005 DISTRICT STATE OF ENVIORNMENT

REPORT Prepared by Gulu District Local Government Environment Department P.o Box 2 Gulu

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This state of Environment Report DSOER), 2004 is the second of its kinds after that of 1997 for Gulu District and will be updated periodically. It was prepared by Gulu district Environment Office and the other Technical staff of the district under the guidance of NEMA. Special thanks go to NEMA for funding the production and the District for co-funding. The heads of departments /sectors are highly appreciated for the time and data which they offered to aid the production of this vital document. The DECs are appreciated for the encouragement and coordination with the stakeholder from whom data was required. District Executive Committee are recognized for the approval of the document. Please enjoying reading this document Mr Langoya THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER - GULU

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FORWARD Gulu district in her endeavor to alleviate poverty and promote development is committed to mainstream environmental concerns in its implementation strategies. The district continues to rely on the natural resources as important sources of income. It is been noted that over 82% of the population depend on agriculture and this can call for immediate up-date on status of the natural resources in the district. In order to mainstream environmental issues in the development plans, there are a number of strategies and recommendations that have been suggested in this report. It is important to note that various human activities in different sectors exert a lot of pressure on the environment in various ways. The on-going insurgency in the area has as well caused a lot of destruction to the environment resources. This report therefore gives some cases where the community is faced with a number of problems resulting from environmental degradation and thereby suggesting solutions/strategies that can be adopted to better the situations. The strategies take the form of policies, ordinance bylaws and community actions. The increasing rate of poverty and insurgency in the district has therefore caused a lot of stressed and dependence on the natural resources as away of survival hence resulting in to degradation in terms of wetland degradations, loss of forest cover, poor hygiene and sanitation, pollution especially water and soils. There is need to continuously review and focus the development process and poverty alleviation in the district so as to create conformity with the interim goal of development which is sustainability. This can be made possible by continuos update of the district state of Environment report while taking into account the continued awareness creation and involvement of the community in environmental planning and management. I thank all who contributed in the production of this report and hope that this document will be very use full in our daily endeavors and will be used by all involved in economic development and environmental planning in the district. Col. Walter Ochora Odoch LCV- CHAIRMAN -GULU DISTRICT

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ACRONYMS

♦ ACCORD-Agency for Cooperation and Research on Development ♦ AMREF- African Medical Research Fund ♦ CAA- Civil Aviation authority ♦ CAO- Chief Administrative Officer ♦ CBO- Community Base Organization ♦ CHO- Control Hunting Area ♦ CPAR- Canadian Physicians for Aids and Relief ♦ CRS- Catholic Relief Services ♦ DEO- District Environment Officer ♦ DSOER- District State Of environment Report ♦ DEP- District Environment Profile ♦ ECO-SAN- Ecological Sanitation ♦ EU- European Union ♦ FAL - Functional adult Literacy ♦ FAO- Food and Agricultural Organization ♦ GFA- Gulu Farmers Association ♦ GMC - Gulu Municipal Council ♦ GTODA- Gulu Taxi Operators Drivers Association ♦ HSD- Health Sub District ♦ IDP- Internally Displaced Persons ♦ IMR- Infant Mortality Rate ♦ MMR- Maternal Mortality Rate ♦ MNFP- Murchison ion Fall National Park ♦ NAADS- National Agricultural advisory Services ♦ NEMA- National Environment Management authority ♦ NES- National Environment Statute ♦ NUSAF- Northern Uganda Social Action Funds ♦ NGO- Non Governmental Organization ♦ PAF- Poverty Alleviation Fund ♦ SOER- State of Environment Report ♦ TBA- Traditional Birth Attendant ♦ TFR- Total fertility Rates ♦ UNFA- Uganda National Farmers Association ♦ WFP- World Food Programs

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TABLE OF CONTENT

6

LISTS OF TABLES/ GRAPHS AND VEN DIAGRAMS

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Executive summary This is the second District State of Environment Report on the Environment in Gulu District after that one produced in 1997. The District State of Environment Report aims to provide information on the condition/status of the environmental components in the district. It describes the quality of the environment for the district, the current status, the trends the environmental components are moving, the assessment of key driving forces and the policies which are used to control the utilization and management of these resources. Environment Environment is defined as the physical factors of the surroundings of the human beings (including land, water atmosphere, climate, odour, tastes,) the biological factors of animals and plants, the social -economic-cultural factors which include aesthetics and other natural and the built up environment.

Sustainable development This calls for developments that meets the need of the present generation without compromising the needs of the present generation. Sustainable development recognizes four types of capital. These are Human- made or fabricated capital, the Natural Capital (the stock of environmentally provided assets such as soils, minerals, forests wetland , lands , water), Human capital ( investments in education, health and nutrition of individuals) and Social capital ( institutions and cultural basis for society to function). In Gulu District the contribution of the natural capital to the development of the district is the highest. Economic growth There is no marked economic growth in the district and this is mostly as a result of the 20 years of the insurgency in the region. The people of the district are engaged mostly in small-scale business, which are mainly for day to day survival.

Poverty and environment The level of poverty in the district is generally high. As a result the people can not afford to properly care for the environment and this has highly affected the environmental components. The people are the major agents of environmental degradation in the district through their unsustainable activities.

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State of Environment Most of the components of the Environment in the district have been highly affected by human activities. The highest proportion of land in the district is used for agricultural activities. The methods of agriculture currently practiced are so poor that they are causing so much land degradation especially in areas around the camps. Wetland on the other has been greatly invaded by the community for various purposes are being seriously amused/degraded. There is an alarming demand for water especially for domestic consumption due to inadequate safe drinking water sources. The people in the camps scramble and fight for the few available sources. Forest resources are getting depleted at a very high rate for various purposed without any plans for replanting. Areas around the camps and any other adjacent forest reserves have all been depleted of the trees and the land looks so bare. The main land tenure system in the district is customary although the other types like lease hold, freehold and rent also exits on limited scale. Gulu district does not have major rivers and Lakes were fisheries can prosper, however the community are engaged in fish farming. Most fish to the district come from the neighboring districts. Gulu Municipal Council is the main urban center in the district where most commercial activities and other social amenities occur. Daily, there is influx in the town both for trade and security purposes especially in the evening when the night commuters flock in. With such high population, the environment situation in the town is actually alarming. There is high level of poor sanitation and waste management through out like in the streets, shop, households and so on. Future The district has a comprehensive plan to manage its environment sustainably. The SEAPs and PEAPs are already in place and there is plan to immediately form the DEAP. In both the DDP and TH SDPs, environmental concerns have been mainstreamed and mitigation prepared for all the projects.

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METHODOLOGY

Successful accomplishment of the tasks in the preparation of the DSOER depended upon detailed consultations with all the relevant sector heads and interested parties. Our research team (Researchers) took into account the knowledge and expertise of those who have been or are involved with environmental management related issues at various levels, of the local government and the decentralization process. A number of methods such as questionnaires, interviews, literature reviews, and workshops were used in data collection while compilation of the data, editing and processing was done using Microsoft computer packages. The above were used either singly or in combinations. ♦ Literature Review A number of documents were containing information on the past and on going activities and other trends in the district were consulted. Literature on the subject matter of the State of Environment reporting, environmental monitoring and assessment were considered ♦ Authority Consultations constituted the major part of our methodology in data collection. Relevant persons in appropriate institutions were identified and consulted. ♦ Workshops

Training of the district sector heads for the production of the DSOER was done. Two training were done before commencement of data collection. These officials later got involved in the whole process and were very useful. ♦ Questionnaires These were designed for all the aspects needed to be considered in the DSOER and were administered by the interviewer.

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♦ Interviews Single interviews were conducted by the researchers with the technical heads / directorates who were not involved in the production and other members of the public. ♦ Photographs Photographs of interested environmental concerns were also taken to be included in the DSOER. ♦ Data compilation and editing These were carried out by editors using Microsoft computer packages

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MAP OF UGANDA SHOWING LOCATION OF GULU DISTRICT.

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THE MAP OF GULU DISTRICT

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CHAPTER ONE

Location ,size and Demography. Gulu district is found in the northern part of Uganda. It is located between longitude 30-32 degrees east, and latitude 02-04 degrees north. Gulu is bordered by Sudan in the North, Pader District in the East, Kitgum District in the North East, Masindi district in the South, Apac in the South East, and Moyo in the west, Nebbi in the South West and Arua in the West. The district headquarters is approximately 322 km from Kampala, the capital city. Gulu District has a total area of 11,734 sq km. It constitutes four counties, nineteen sub-counties and one Municipality, which is also the seat of the district headquarters. The district currently has about 52 internally displaced people’s camps Table 1. Showing the camps of Gulu district with their respective stipulated population by 2004

County Sub county Parish Location Camps Population Aswa Awach Gwengdiya Gwengdiya Awach 17,058 Bungatira Coope 6361 Paicho Paicho Paicho Kalali 15,296 Unyama Unyama Unyama 15196 Paicho Pagik Teya paadola 8277 Palaro Mede Oroko Palaro 1,552 Palaro Labworomo

r Palaro 11,326

Patiko Kal Patiko/ Ajulu

Patiko/ Ajulu 8621

Lukodi 1,474 Kilak Amuru Toro Toro Amuru 33,731 Pamuca Labongogali Labongogali Atiak Kal Kal Atiak 19,939 Palukere Palukere 656 Pawel Pawel 3680 Bibia Bibia Bibia 5935 Lamogi Palema Palema Awer 19896 Guu guru Olwal Guu guru 5985 Olwal Olwal Kaladima 1,463 Parabongo Parabongo Parabongo 12360 Alokulum 7390 Lacor seminary 5620 Keyo 4196 Olwal Olwal Olwal 14170 Oboo Pagak Pagak 19,133 Pabo Kal Kal Pabo 57,896 Nwoya Anaka Paduny Paduny Anaka 31,0362 Todora Agung Agung 2,074

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Purongo Latoro Latoro Aparaga 2,503 Pawatomero

east Olwiyo Olwiyo 2159

Pabit Wii a nono Wii Anaka 2,151 Paromo Purongo Wii a nono 10,671 Alero Kal Kal Alero 17,289 Koch Goma Kal Kal Koch Goma 11362 Omoro Lakwana Tegot Tegot Opit 21,916 Awoo 1154 Koro Labwoch KoroAbili KoroAbili 4760 Acoyo Tetugu 7611 Lalogi Jaka Lalogi Lalogi Odek Lukwo Lukwo Acet 25,733 Dino 5473 Odek 2228 Lamola Lamola Awere 13812 Ongako Kal Kal Ongako 9323 Bobi Bobi 13925 Palenga Palenga Palenga 10,958

Source: Population Deppartment Gulu

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Relief The relief of Gulu District consists of complex low landscape with relatively Uniform topography marked by few sharp contrasts. Generally the altitude Ranges between 1000 meters to 1200 meters above sea level. The land is suitable for mechanized agriculture because the land is generally flat with less sandy-loam soils. Ox-ploughing which used to be practiced widely is now almost non-existent due to loss of oxen over the years of insurgency in the district. The communities use the traditional methods of farming. Drainage The up and down warping of under ground rocks accompanied by faulting, shearing and jointing has influenced the drainage pattern of Gulu District to form a dendrite drainage pattern. Here many rivers and streams are held responsible for the formation of this drainage pattern. The major rivers and streams are those flowing into the Nile like; river Aswa, Unyama, Tochi, Ayugi, Ayago and Apar. Vegetation The vegetation of Gulu district as classified by Langlands 1974, consists of intermediate savannah grasslands. This type of vegetation is that found between the moist savanna lands. The vegetation type is characterized by open canopy of trees 10-12 meters high and underlying grasses of 80 centimeters high. These trees are fire resistant and therefore able to regenerate themselves after being burnt. The common tree Genus/species include; Acacia, Ficus natalensis, Combretum boanasus, Aethicupum (fan palm) while the common grasses include Imperatus cylidrnia, Hypenaria fufa, Digitria scalarum. There are also some herbs like Bidens pilosa, Ageratum conizoids, Amarunthus species Eucalyptus, Jacaranda, Cipressus, Theruvian, Pines, Hibiscus, Eougainvillae, Plamthoyant ,combretum and Lantaraa camara. However man’s activities have tended to interfere with the natural vegetation of the place and this has led to development of secondary vegetation. Climate The type of climate experienced in Gulu District consists of dry and wet seasons. The average total rainfall received is about 1500 mm per annum. It has a bimodal rainfall pattern with a short dry spelt in July and one long dry season from late Nov to early March. The monthly mean average rainfall ranges between 14 mm in January and 230 mm in August.

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The average maximum temperature is 30 degrees centigrade and the minimum is 18 degrees centigrade. The relative humidity of the area is high during the wet season and low in the dry season. Soil According to Lang lands (1974) classifications, the soil of Gulu District consists of ferruginous sandy soils which have a high percentage of sandy- loam with high infiltration rate. The soils are usually deep with little differentiation into clearly defined zones and possess fine granular structure, often molded into larger, weakly coherent clods that are very porous. Geology The major rock types that form the geology of Gulu District are from the remains of the low surfaces and scarps related to rift sediments of the western rift valley. Often the focus in these areas is the Inselbergs and hot springs. Limited geological reconnaissance investigations were carried out in some parts of the district and some minerals were found to occur in some areas. Among these minerals are; kynite found to occur in the pennatic vein rock areas of Attiak trading centre (town boarder), magnetite, a source of iron ore is found in Alero at patiri hill and the surrounding rock. More minerals were observed in rock of Keyo hill a few miles north east of Patitri hill. Chalcopyrite copper mineral occured in small quantity in granite gneisses at Lawiyadul area two kilometers north of Gulu town. Gold is said to have been traced in Atiak –Bibia up to the Sudan boarder (here detailed geological investigation is needed). Clay suitable for good quality roofing tiles and building bricks is found to occur in almost all parts of the district. Stone quarrying in several rocks has also been identified and are said to be of good quality for building and construction industries.

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Ethnic composition Available records show that of the population comprises of the

following categories of people.

Table 2. Sources: Population department Gulu district

Tribes Percentage compositions

Acholi 94% Langi 4%, Madi, 1% Others 1%

Demographic characteristics. The Population Profile The population of Uganda as of March 2005 is 26.2 million persons up from 24.7 million persons in 2002 with a growth rate of 3.4% and sex ratio of 95 males per 100 females. The population of Gulu District as of 2002 Population and Housing Census final results indicates that the total population of Gulu District is 475,260 of which 74.9 percent live in rural areas. The population density is 41-persons/sq km, while the average household size is 4.7 and sex ratio of 97 males per 100 females.

Table 3: Population Distribution by County, Sub-County, Sex and Average Household Size.

Sub-County Male Female Total Average HH size

GULU 233,908 241,352 475,260 4.8

ASWA 36,112 37,795 73,907 4.6 Awach 5,367 5,793 11,160 5.0 Bungatira 11,188 11,725 22,913 4.9 Paicho 12,255 12,621 24,876 4.6 Palaro 3,387 3,222 6,609 4.2 Patiko 3.915 4.434 8,349 4.3 GMC 59,023 60,407 119,430 5.4 Bardege 18,702 17,955 36,657 5.7 Laroo 10,380 10,834 21,214 5.7 Layibi 12,516 12,910 25,426 5.5 Pece 17,425 18,708 36,133 5.4 KILAK 66,919 68,804 135,723 4.6 Amuru 14,448 14,521 28,969 4.8 Attiak 13,281 13,732 27,013 4.6

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Lamogi 18,663 18,962 37,625 4.6 Pabbo 20,527 21,589 42,116 4.6 NWOYA 20,239 20,771 41,010 4.2 Alero 6,345 6,877 13,222 3.6 Anaka 6,112 6,485 12,597 5.2 Purongo 3,312 3,329 6,641 4.0 Koch Goma 4,470 4,080 8,550 4.3 OMORO 51,615 53,575 105,190 5.0 Bobi 8,375 8,345 16,720 4.8 Koro 8,886 9,265 18,151 5.3 Lakwana 6,431 6,957 13,388 4.4 Lalogi 8,849 9,467 18,316 5.2 Odek 11,908 12,347 24,255 5.0 Ongako 7,166 7,194 14,360 5.3 Source: UBOS – 2002 Housing and Population census final results Table 4: Gulu Population Age Groups Distributions Age Groups Male Female Total Infant Population (under 17) 10,298 10,721 21,017 Population (0-5 years) under 5 45,042 46,881 91,923 6 –12 49,306 51,318 100,624 Under 15 112,982 117,594 230,576 Under 18 127,281 132,476 259,757 10 – 14 30,158 31,389 61,547 15 – 24 45,835 47,705 93,540 Women of Rep. Ag (15 – 49) - 106,952 106,952 All adults (18 above) 105,597 109,906 215,503 Youths (18 – 30) 55,420 57,682 113,102 Economically active population (15 – 64 years

115,382 120,091 235,473

Elderly (60 +) 9,284 9,662 18,940 Dependency Ratio 104 person per 100 persons in the

working (Economically active) population Source: UBOS – 2002 Housing and Population Census Final Results

It can be seen from table 2.1 that Kilak has the largest population among the counties with 135,723, which is 28.6% of the entire district population. Gulu Municipal Council follows with 119,430 people, while Nwoya County has the lowest number of people, 41,010. The reason for this distribution of population is that Gulu Municipality is where population from all over the district has been displaced to due to the conflict. On the other hand, Omoro County has had its population being most stable and Kilak is where most displacement took place to other areas of the district and beyond.

Population of Gulu by Sub-county is unevenly distributed over the land area. The majority of the population lives in rural area. The population density differs in the

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four counties and Nwoya County has the least density because of the national parks and game reserves.

Spatial distribution of population in Gulu is uneven mainly affected by factors such an economic activity, history, parks, game reserves and insecurity. Much of the rural sites have been significantly depopulated as a result of the 19-year civil war.

Currently the majority of the population, over 90% have settled temporary in the IDP camps. There are about 52 of these IDPs camps and the majority is in Kilak and Nwoya counties.

Table 5: Population growth and distribution

1980 1991 2002 2005 Projection

Uganda 12,636,179 16,671,705 24,746,977 26,200,000

Gulu 270,065 236,427 475,260 528,800

Gulu share of Uganda Population (%)

2.0 2.0 1.9 1.8

Gulu Density 23 29 41 45

Source: UBOS – 2002 Housing and Population Census Final Results

The population of the District has increased from 270,065 to 475,260 in 2002, an increase of 205,175 people. But the share of Gulu District to the population of Uganda has remained at only about 2% during the period. The density of the population in the District has meanwhile increased from 23 per square kilometer to 41 per square kilometer. The density may not be of much concern if compared to neighboring districts like Apac (106 per square kilometer) and Lira (104 per square kilometer). We should remember however that if it were not because of the insecurity in Gulu, the population density would be very near these two.

Table 6: Population Growth Rate and doubling time

Year Growth (%) Doubling time (Years)

1969/1980 1.81 17

1980/1991 2.05 15

1991/2002 2.9 10

Source: UBOS – 2002 Housing and Population Census Final Results

Gulu District population growth rate has increased from 1.81 percent in 1980 to 2.9 percent in 2002. The population is growing faster and its doubling time has decreased from 17 years to 10 years during the same period. At this rate the population of 475,260 in 2002 should double to 950,520 in just 10 years, that is, by the year 1012. The question is will essential services like education, health, water, sanitation,

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infrastructures, etc grow fast enough to take care of the increasing population? This is a challenge, which all development partners should be considering now.

Graph 1. Showing population projections

0200000400000600000

('000

)

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Years

Gulu's Popn Projection.

Source: Population Department Gulu district Population.

Gulu town is the only urban area with 119,430 people in 2002, only second to Kampala with 1.2 million people. The population of Gulu Munipality is as well bigger than those of Lira and Mbale Municipalities.

The population of Gulu town increased mainly because of insecurity in the rural areas, but the increase is alarming because the population has more than tripled in just 11 years

NB. The above figure however does not reflect the actual population because accessibility to all parts of the district was not possible due to insecurity.

Settlement patterns

The population settlement pattern in Gulu District has had a departure from natural resource endowment potentials, existence of social economic activity determinants to security concerns.

The settlement patterns in Gulu used to determine by natural resources existence and endowment like the National parks, game reserves, ease of accessibility to socio economic infrastructure, Soil fertility factors and the physical features like hills, rivers, forests and swamps among others.

About 80% of settlements were determined by the above factors. But this has currently been interrupted by the insurgency and people are brought to settle

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temporarily in congested camps. Only a few individuals living in GMC have been able to settle permanently.

However, the following settlement patterns still exist:-

Linear Settlement; where people are settled along infrastructures such as roads; Health centres; trading centres and town and its suburbs.

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• Nucleated Settlement is the concentration of people in one particular place. This is common due to the establishment of the fourty six Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps scattered all over the District.

Settlement distribution The nature of settlements in the district is characterized by unplanned settlement patterns especially in the municipal and urban centers like Pabbo, Koch-Goma, Minakulu and Palenga among others The settlements have developed on the periphery of the original structures by either default or design. Poor planning and settlement is attributed to a number of factors, which include;

• Increased number of internally displaced persons • Insufficient financial resources to implement the planned activities • The land tenure system • Shortage of skilled manpower to handle the planning issues adequately

This has therefore resulted in poor housing and sanitation especially in the slums and camps. Housing The housing condition especially in the rural areas are very poor characterized by temporary structures. Majority of the dwellings (84%) are grass thatched with walls made out of mud, wattle or even burnt bricks (83%) while only 14% of the dwellings have roofs made out of iron sheets some of which are old or asbestos. The factors contributing to poor housing conditions include;

• High levels of poverty • High cost and shortage of building materials • Socio-economic setup of the people

Dependence on the local materials for construction like reeds mud and poles/timber is destructive to the environment. This is because over harvesting of poles and grass for construction can enhance soil erosion and loss of vegetation cover. It is therefore important that environmental conservation be taken seriously through for instance formation of women and youth groups and training on how to sustainably sue the available environmental resources. Households: Households in the district as per the 2002 Population and Housing Census are 98,059. Of the above, 23,687 are in urban centres and 74,372 are in rural centres These households are being headed by Males (Adults 15+), Female (15 +) and Children (Less than 15 years of age) refer to the table below.

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Table 7: Showing Categories of persons heading households in Gulu district Categories Male head Female head

Child head

No of households

65,857 (67.2%)

31,935 (32.6%) 267 households [M= 123 households & F=144 households] Overall % = (0.2%)

Source: Population Department- Gulu Culturally in Acholi, the head of a household must be a man. However, the following factors below might have led to the death of men and parents HIV/AIDs, Ebola out break of 2000, and insecurity. Family structure The general nature of families is that where there are more dependants than the supporters. There are a number of child headed families which is mainly attributed to the war. The extended family system is still common as it is entrenched in the Acholi social setup. However the phenomenon of the nuclear family system is slowly setting foot in the district. The average family size is approximately 6.0 in the rural areas and 5.3 in the towns and trading centers.

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CHAPTER 2

ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT Environment Environment is defined as the physical factors of the surroundings of the human beings (including land, water atmosphere, climate, odour, tastes,) the biological factors of animals and plants, the social -economic-cultural factors which include aesthetics and other natural and the built up environment. It is very essential for one of understand these different components, their interaction and their relation ship with development. This will draw sense of sustainable development and any strategy for protection and management of the environment as a whole. Sustainable development This calls for developments that meets the need of the present generation without compromising the needs of the present generation. Sustainable development recognizes four types of capital. These are Human- made or fabricated capital, the Natural Capital (the stock of environmentally provided assets such as soils, minerals, forests wetland , lands , water), Human capital ( investments in education, health and nutrition of individuals) and Social capital ( institutions and cultural basis for society to function). In Gulu District the contribution of the natural capital to the development of the district is the highest. Economic growth There is no marked economic growth in the district and this is mostly as a result of the 20 years of the insurgency in the region. The people of the district are engaged mostly in small-scale business, which are mainly for day to day survival.

Poverty The level of poverty in the district is generally high. As a result the people can not afford to care for the environment and this has highly affected the environmental components. The people are the major agents of environmental degradation in the district through their unsustainable activities. The household incomes in the district are generally low but still, there are variations between the rural and urban incomes where the urban dwellers are better off than rural ones.

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The expenditure patterns show that most people usually spend on basic items like food, shelter, clothing, and medical care. The major factors contributing to high levels of poverty include the following;

• Over dependence on agricultural products whose prices easily fluctuate. • Poorly developed cash crop economy due to unreliable climatic conditions and

inaccessibility • Very few people have access to credit facilities because of the few formal credit

institutions • Low Natural Resource endowment and lack of knowledge to sustainably utilize

the few available. • Insecurity has hindered accessibility to resources. • Social-cultural beliefs and practices at are discriminative particularly against

women • Lack of capital investment due to low incomes of the people • Ignorance and illiteracy which reduces people’s capacity to active economic

participation Many households do not have sustainable sources of income and this makes them poorer. The poor people are known to be both agents and victims of land degradation, which puts their life at a greater risk. Therefore, there’s need to develop programmes that translate economic growth into equitable income distribution while developing necessary social and economic strategies. Manifestations of poverty in the district Poverty in Gulu District is at an alarming rate and this has got an impact on the livelihood and social status of the people as well as the health status of the population. This can be manifested in the following ways;

• Malnutrition especially among children in the camps • Poor levels of hygiene and sanitation, this is coupled by the fact that households

are not aware of the basic household hygiene practices • High level of disease and infection of HIV, malaria, diarrhea and respiratory tract

infections • Low household incomes • Lack of basic necessities of life like clothing, food, shelter access to education

and medical care

Livelihood analysis In spite of the social and economic challenges faced by the people of Gulu, they are able to earn a living from a number of activities. These include:- Table 8. Showing Contribution of various economic activities to the district revenues.

Activities %ages Agriculture 80.4 Trade 61 Tourism 1

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Processing industry

0.9

Cottage industry

0.9

Wood industry 0.1 Construction 3.1 Fish farming 1.8 Others 3.8

0102030405060708090

%ages

Agriculture

Trade

Tourism

ProcessingindustryCottageindustryWood industry

Graph 2: Reflecting the contribution of various economic activities to the district Others may include quarrying, brick making, metal fabrication, carpentry, joinery and missionary, market gardening, artisan try, civil and military service, and hoteliers. Some of these activities are very rudimentary and destructive. Diagram 1: Showing Community quarry rocks on the riverbeds of River Oyitino Bardege Division GMC as source of income **Scan picture of Quarry here** Table 9: Livelihood activities by age, gender and location

No Description Age Gender Location 1 Cultivation All Male

female Rural and peri-urban

2 Petty trade Youth and women

Male female

Rural and urban

3 Contract work

Youth adult

All Urban, peri-urban and rural

Source: Population Department- Gulu

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Life expectancy The life expectancy in Gulu District is lower than in most parts of the country. Table 9: Summary of Life expectancy of population in Gulu District Area Male Female Average for both

sexes Gulu 38.9 years 42.9 years 40.9 Source: Population Department- Gulu There are a number of factors that attribute to the varying life expectancies of the people. These include:-High infant mortality rates, insurgency, poor living conditions inadequate health facilities and Health care, Poverty, Low level of Education and Unemployment as well as maternal mortality which is still high because of many other diseases and factors. This factor has highly affected economic development of the district.

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CHAPTER 3.

THE STATE OF ENVIRONMENT Social welfare and Environment Health Sector This year 2004, Gulu district has 61 health units and one district hospital of bed capacity of 892 beds. There are also two private hospitals and one regional referral hospital. Only 29% of the health units are at a distance < 5 km accessibility distance to the population. In all these places there are counseling units and six testing facilities for STDs. Staffing of Health Sectors The staffing positioning for all carders in the sector is poor. This has resulted to unsatisfactory performance for instance:

• Supervised delivery services in the health units is only 12.9% compared to 87.1% by Traditional Birth Attendant (TBA),

• Doctor: patient being 1:16,000, • Nurse + Mid-wife: patients as 1:2,677.

Most qualified health workers prefer to work outside the district due 20 years old insurgency in the north and the low motivation of these staff. Mortality Rates In 2004 it was noted that:-

• Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) was 172 deaths per 1000 live births • Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) was 700 deaths per 100,000 live births, • While mortality rate for those less than 5 years was 250 deaths per 1000 live

births.. • High risk of birth is estimated at 72%

Insecurity has escalated this situation and makes estimation very difficult . Factors affecting Birth, Mortality and Fertility rate:-

• Low level of education. Less educated women tend to produce more (TFR = 7.4 children per woman)

• Low level of income. Poor women tend to produce many children (TFR = 8.4 children per woman)

• Nowadays, women tend to produce more with fear that some might be consumed by the insurgency

• Inadequate health facilities and health care • Early child pregnancies • Family Planning practices are poor and birth spacing less 2 years is still rampant • Abortion rate is worrying among teen ages • Contraceptive prevalence is still low.

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Burden of diseases in the district Health is one of the priority areas in the district development plans. However, there are a number of factors that have influenced the health status of the population. There is still poor access to health facilities (29%). A number of health centers have been constructed but can not be accessed due to insecurity. The rate of prevalence of various diseases amongst the community is still high. HIV /AIDS are still a threat to the district and is estimated at 11.5% others are shown below. Graph 3: Showing durden of diseases in the district (%)

05

10

1520

2530

35 Malaria

ARI

IntestinalwormsSTI

Diarrhea andassociates

Although the population and cultures are of conservative nature, there is currently free will to the use of contraceptive as a control measure for population. However, contraceptive prevalence rate is only generally 12%. Therefore the in uncontrolled population growth is causing a lot of stress to the existing facilities and available resources.

Pie Chart 1: showing % usage of contraceptive by feamales by types

19%

19%

0%

12%

50%

CondomsIUDVasectomyNorplanPills

30

Pie Chart 2: Showing % use of contraceptive by Males

86%

0%

14%0%0%

CondomIUDVasectomyNorplanPills

Vaccination coverage and facilities Table : Showing % coverage to immunization in the district Form of Vaccination % coverage BCG 138 Tetanus 42 Measles 128 DPT 3 123 These immunization are carried out both at gazetted centers and through mobile out reach centers. Gazetted centers are 30 in numbers and 134 mobile out reach centres.

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Education There are 323 primary schools and 8 tertiary institutions. Literacy level is generally high ( 60.1%). Literacy level

• 38.8% of females (15-49) years and 8.6% of males (15 – 54) years of the population of Gulu have not gone to school. This therefore means that the percentage of no education in Gulu District is 23.7%

• 26.8% of females and 35% of males completed Primary Education, which accounts for 31% of the population who went to primary schools

• 3.1% of females and 8.45% of males completed Secondary Education, which is 5.8% of the total population

• 1.4% of females and 4.0% of males completed more than Secondary Education, giving 2.7% of the total population

• Illiteracy level in our district is 39.9%, with females accounting for 65.5% and males 14.2%

• Enrolment of pupils in primary schools rose from 147,000 pupils in 2003 to 164,302 pupils in 2004, presenting a percent increase of 11.8%.

Low literacy levels have been attributed to factors like:- 1. Inadequate funds to improve the education sector. 2. Insurgency in the district, 3. Negative attitude towards education of girls, 4. Long distance to the schools and poverty despite UPE, where by parents can not complement other education costs. 5. Other factors include: abductions; child labour; early marriages; pregnancies; school drop out among others. It is therefore important to note that 178,999 are of school going age and 14,697 are not gong to school due to the above factors. Such scenario will eventually have big implication on the level of economic development in the district. However we are grateful to the Government for the Functional Adult Literacy (FAL) program which is promoting adult literacy.

Functional Adult Literacy levels

Number

N0. Of functional adult levels

4974

N0. of females 703 N0. Of male 4271

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In the district there is also consideration for the education of people with special needs . Record show that 4241 persons enrolled in different schools. Table : Showing enrollment in primary schools in 2004 and latrine coverage by county

County Sub county

No .p/Sch

Enrollment of pupils

Latrine stances

Staces: pupil ratio

Teachers Stances for teachers

. M F M F M F M F M F Aswa Awach 8 2396 2054 40 36 1:60 1:57 69 28 8 8 Bungatira 9 2869 2201 52 43 1:55 1:51 18 8 8 6 Paicho 16 5982 5003 46 38 1:13

0 1:131 72 16 16 4

Palaro 05 965 865 21 18 1:46 1:48 8 5 5 3 Patiko 08 2358 2158 38 36 1:62 1:60 12 8 8 5 Kilak Amuru 10 4565 3040 75 35 1:61 1:87 96 28 10 12 Atiak 12 3909 3086 64 68 1:61 1:45 98 32 12 14 Lamogi 12 5609 4430 127 103 1:44 1:43 165 84 12 6 Pabo 12 5461 3999 77 66 1:71 1:61 112 42 11 16 Nwoya Anaka 08 2113 1795 63 61 1:34 1:29 82 36 8 8 Purongo 15 4552 4552 46 32 1:99 1:136 79 29 9 9 Alero 10 2462 2020 63 53 1:39 1:35 20 11 10 10 Koch

Goma 08 1818 1212 40 35 1:45 1:35 35 5 8 8

Omoro Lakwana 7 2809 2293 47 40 1:60 1:57 60 18 7 7 Koro 11 3900 3277 44 46 1:89 1:72 84 49 11 11 Lalogi 12 4384 3561 56 55 1:78 1:65 118 22 12 12 Odek 13 4241 3492 65 60 1:65 1:58 166 17 5 5 Ongako 8 1771 1550 44 46 1:40 1:34 38 27 8 8 Bobi 12 3193 2881 56 65 1:33 1:44 75 33 12 12

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Sustainable Economic Development There are a number of economic activities, which the population is engaged in for their livelihood survival. Records show that Agriculture employs up to 80.4% of the population, although only 10% are utilized yearly due to insecurity and livestock is also limited to only about 1000 dairy farmers. Other activities include earnings through tourism which is still at low ebb due to insecurity, Cottage Industry which account for 0.9%, Petty trading is 3.1%, property income is 1.1% and employment income which is 7.7%.

GENDER Empowerment of Women As noted above, the unmet need for Family Planning is still law hence high fertility rate with average of 7.4 Children per woman. Also, 38.8% of the women had not gone to school and 65.5% are illiterate. This means that we need an affirmative action to strengthen the girl child education by fighting all the causes of dropouts in schools and teen-age pregnancies, which is currently at 43.1% of mothers. Effort is being made towards sensitization of women leaders, women councilors, and girls on women rights and Gender issues. This will go a long way to empower the women economically (Economic Independent). Factors that affect population development:-

a) Insurgency: - This has led to destruction of health centres in the rural areas of the District. Medical personnel’s are running away to other districts where there is political stability and the few who are present within the are not stable while working in the Sub-counties (rural areas) because of fear of their lives. Secondly, the long insurgency has also distracted the Education systems and up to 80% of the primary schools are displaced

b) Low sensitization of the population on family planning (unmet need 28.5%) c) Due to poverty, most women prefer to deliver with TBA than to Health workers

because they cannot afford to get funds for transport and maintenance while in the Health Centre. More so, health equipment are not proportional to the population hence people don’t get high quality health care, hence is the cause of IMR, MMR under five mortality rate and trend of the life expectancy in the district

d) Employment opportunities that exist in the district are not exploited i.e. commercial farming, ranching, tourism, fishing, industrialization etc in order to boost the sustainability of Economic Development

e) The advocacy on women’s rights and Gender Issues is slowly taking root in Gulu District

f) Inadequate food g) High dependency on relief, external economic support.

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Any approaches which aim at integrating incorporating the Economy, Society, and Ecology (Natural environment) will bring about sustainable development in the district. These would include reconstruction and rehabilitation of health centres in the rural areas and recruitment of more Health workers, reduction of illiteracy level, and revitalization of employment as well as sustainable utilization of the environmental resources among other strategies.

Accessibility Accessibility to most of the Services and Amenities in the district is still a worrying issue due to the nature of the current settlement patterns. There are few and un maintained access roads, insufficient safe water supply and availability of other social amenities. However, the few infrastructures in place are left un utilized due to the insurgency. This scenario is as a result of the following factors;

• Poor and/lack of maintenance of the amenities • Insecurity along the roads • Remoteness of some areas • The type of settlement patters which are mainly nucleated Human poverty index

Accessibility %age Adult literacy rate 60.1 Population without access to safe water

43.8

Population without access to health

71

Under weight children under 5 yrs ( Access to good food)

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Culture/Aesthetics The culture of the people is said to be one that is so conservative and unique. Regarding the aesthetic sites, the formal institutions like amusement information centers, green/open parks, theaters, public libraries, and other recreational places are very inadequate. This is attributed to:-

• Low levels of development • Negative attitude towards new changes • Post independence civil strife in the country

But there are a few cultural spots like Port Sir Samuel Baker in Patiko, the Hot spring of Amuru and Guruguru hill. These institutions are not only vital in promoting development but also necessary for the provision of both formal and Non- formal Environmental Education. Therefore the education of the local people on the importance of such institutions could provide a solution to the vital needs of cultural institutions in the settlements.

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However, some of these sites like the hills have been highly degraded and immediate action is needed to stop the degradation. This could be through awareness creation on the importance of these natural resources and bye law formulation and implementation. Migration characteristics: Virtually, there are no refugee settlements in the district. However, large number of people in rural areas has moved to the forty six Internally Displaced Persons’ Camps and urban areas (RUM). It is noted that the Population in camps have risen from 291,000 people in 2001 to 438,765 people in 2004 and those in the urban centres from 38,297 people in 1991 to 113,144 people in 2002. Due to the same insurgency, there is also movement of people from Gulu district to the neighboring districts of Nebbi, Adjumani, Apac, Lira, Masindi and other Districts, not mentioned here. However, data is not yet available on these phenomena. The population in the camps has swollen due to double registration for more share of relief food rations (items) and influx of people from the neighboring districts in search of settlement in the IDP camps within the district like

• Awere IDP camp has people from Pader, Lira (Aromo Sub-county) and Apac (Otwal Sub-county) and they get their relief food items from Awere centre

• Dino, Lalogi, Opit and Bobi IDP camps have people from Apac District, especially Ngai, Otwal and Minakulu Sub-counties.

• Teyaa Padola (Cwero) IDP camp also contains people from Pader District, especially Lacekocot Sub-county

• Bibiya, Attiak and Pabbo IDP camps are harbouring people (Madi) from Adjumani District (Pakelle Sub-county)

• There are also some Alur from Nebbi District (Pakwach Sub-county) in Wii-Anaka and Wiya Nono camps

• Finally, the Congolese from DRC are settled in most of these IDP Camps. Employment

There are a number of employment opportunities that exist in Gulu district and these include commercial farming, tourism, industrialization, fishing, ranching, forestry among others . These opportunities have been favored by the following factors:

a) Commercial farming:

• Presence of good fertile soil in the District and Vast virgin land • Good and favorable climate, • A relatively flat landscape which favors mechanization

b) Tourism • Presence of good tourist sites, like Murchison Falls National Park,

Amuru hot spring, Baker’s Fort at Patiko; and numerous Acholi traditional/cultural beautiful dances

c) Industrialization:

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• Availability of fruits (mangoes, oranges, lemons, pineapples, etc) which can be used as raw materials to install fruit processing industry;

• Cotton production provide opportunities for establishment of Spinning Mill and Textile Industry;

• Tobacco growing can as well lead to the installation of tobacco processing factory;

• Timber processing factory can as well be established due to existing forests and the process of forestation and re-a forestation, which is going on in the District like areas of Opit, Abera and other community land forest.

d) Fishing: • Presence of rivers (Nile and Aswa) and numerous streams within

Gulu District that can be used for establishment of fishing villages.

• Fish ponds can be improved upon to provide opportunity for employment

e) Ranching: • Presence of savannah grassland, which favors animal rearing. • Dairy farming can as well be established due to the availability of

Grassland and favorable habitat, etc. f) Forestry:

• Presence of Central Forest Reserves, Local Forest Reserves Community Forest Reserves and Private Forest Reserves that already existing in the District;

It is worth noting here that Agriculture has more employment opportunity with over 80%. This means that to solve some of the problem of un-employment in the district, agriculture has to be developed from subsistence to commercial farming Impact Existence of IDPs in the district and congestion of persons in these camps have adverse impacts on both the physical and human environments in the following ways; • Encroachment on forest vegetation • Haphazard land cultivation and swamp reclamation • Over stretching the already inadequate social services • Accelerated spread of diseases due to over crowding • Constant food shortages • Pollution and contamination of environmental elements and food stuffs • Induced laziness and dependency syndrome • Population growth • High crime rate unplanned settlements and associated structures

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In order to reduce the above impacts, interventions/mitigation measures such as improving security, provision of shelter, food, water and health facilities, Introducing activities that are likely to sustain the IDPs such as supporting agriculture through the provision of improved seeds and implements at subsidized prices, training of women and youth in various skills as well as intensified sensitization of the community on the need to sustainably manage and used the environmental resources are of great need. Legal provisions Existing Policies on Population for Gulu district include the following:-

• High quality Health Care, including Family Planning and Reproductive Health Services

• Improved quality of Education • Sustainable Economic Development • Empowerment of Women

This population policy recognizes that the district will develop faster if we attain a population growth rate that is in tandem (together and at the same time) with economic growth and development. To achieve this balance, efforts must be made to: -

• Lower morbidity and mortality • Reduce incidence of high risk births • Attain a family size that will enhance the health and welfare of the family • Ensure attainment of Education so as to develop high quality of human resource

and enhance the status of women • Provide adequate care for children • Integrate the youth, the elderly and persons with disabilities into the mainstream

of District development • Promote balanced rural-urban development • Integrate population and related socio-economic factors in all levels of

development planning • Eliminate negative socio-cultural practices that hinder development • Evolve a society that is both informed and conscious of population and

development issues and concerns. While the existing policy on economic development include

• Reduction of poverty • Sustainable Economic Growth • Improved Quality of Education • Increased Employment opportunities • Improved Health facilities and Health care.

In order to facilitate the implementation and success of the above, there should be Increase funding to reduce poverty like PAF and NUSAF among others. In addition train the communities to identify their priorities to develop good plan. And this will go a long way in reducing poverty.

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TERRESTIAL ECOSYSTEMS Table: 3.1 Land Resources/uses

Total land area 11,734 sq. km Open water 97 sq. km Arable land 10,192sq. km Land under cultivation 407,68 sq. km Forest and wood land 371 sq. km Wetlands 74 sq. km Food production per metric tone

22.000

Game reserves occupy 982 sq km Gulu is a well endowed district as far as land is concerned, because there is still plenty of productive land in the district which is left uncultivated due to the on going insecurity in the area. The most dominant land use is crop cultivation and the least dominant land uses is that in water. This is because most of the big water sources are inaccessible due to insecurity and insufficient funding for development more so for fishing industry. Rainfall is ample in the district but varies in amount hence making it unreliable, especially for crop cultivation. However, the land uses in the district are facing problems arising from poor land use systems, management, ownership and accessibility. These problems include ecosystem degradation, land tenure system and lack of effective land use planning. ** Scan Here ** Ecosystem Fragility Despite being a relatively endowed district, Gulu District’s ecosystem is highly susceptible to degradation. The district experiences long dry spells despite the ample rainfall of 1,500mm p.a. There are mainly sandy loam soils with moderate water retention capacity and the high winds during the dry season causing the vegetation dry up hence vulnerable destruction. The soils often get exposed to high risks of drying since the predominant annual crops do not offer effective ground cover and are thus prone to erosion. This leads to stunted growth of plants and eventually disappearance of flora and fauna. The main causes of ecosystem fragility include the following;

• The nature of the soils. • Uncontrolled seasonal fires • Improper and destructive farming systems • Insecurity • Land tenure arrangements • High dependence on wood fuel as the main source of energy

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Introduction of intensive mixed double cropping, mulching the soils, strip planting improved agro forestry systems and proper field lay out would improve soil productivity and retention capacity of the soils. Tenure arrangement. Until 1995, customary tenants did not legally own land they occupied. The land belonged to the State, and the tenants were merely permitted to live on it (Tenants at Sufferance). According to its preamble, the Decree was intended to provide for the vesting of title to all land in Uganda IN TRUST for the people of Uganda. The Constitution of 1995 vested land in the citizens of Uganda as opposed to land vested in the State, as was the case with the Crown Land and consequently Public Land. Therefore:

• Customary tenants on Public Land were empowered to own land occupied. • Three quarters of land in Gulu falls under customary tenancy hence Communal

Land Management. • The Land Act 1998 favoured the Acholi customary land holding e g. communal

cultivation, communal grazing, and settlements. The Land Act 1998 introduced to Gulu District three major land tenure systems these are Customary, Freehold, and Leasehold tenures Currently the land in Gulu is held under customary land tenure system and leasehold certificates are being processed by the district land board. The board inspects land only in the rural areas but for the Municipality, they prefer surveys to take place as a measure to check if the ground conforms to the layout/ planning of the area. In spite of most land being owned customarily, some individuals still opt for leases on customary land while waiting for period to convert to Freehold out of the Leasehold certificates Customary and Freehold certificates have never been issued in the district because of lack of rules and regulations, and the Land Act amendment which is still under process. This kind of land tenure system has persisted in Gulu district due to the following reasons;

• Socio-economic set up of the Acholi people which are based on clans • Failure by government to streamline issues from the land policy • Poorly developed district cash economy

Land use planning There is comprehensive land use plan for Gulu District whose implementation has been limited by the 18 year old insurgency. Creation of camps in urban or gazetted areas caused the land to suffer from unplanned activities, some of which discourage sustainable land use, practices.

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AGRICULTURE Agriculture is the predominant economic activity in the district employing about 82% of the total work force. The estimated average number of households engaged in agriculture every year is about 80,408 out of a total of an estimated 98,059. This is because of the following:-

• Out of the total land area, 87.4% is available for farming, • Favorable climate • Cheap labour • The land is generally flat which favours mechanization and • Ready market for the produce, like Rice, Simsim, Maize, Millet, and so on.

In the past, farmers practiced communal farming on huge blocks of land where particular crops were grown and crop rotation a must. But this is not possible nowadays, as access to farmland is limited around the IDP camps. Therefore under the new arrangement, the same types of crops are grown continually, leading to depletion of particular soil nutrients hence decline of crop yields. The land here is suitable for mechanized agriculture because it is generally flat with sandy-loam soils. Ox-ploughing which used to be practiced widely is now almost non-existent due to loss of oxen over the years of insurgency in the district. The communities use the traditional methods of farming tools such as hand hoes, pangas, and axes. However crop production in particular is the major economic activity in Gulu district, employing about 95% of the population. As stated earlier, 87.4% of the total land area is available for farming but only less than 10% is being utilized yearly. The limited utilization of land is mainly due to the insecurity in the region. It is estimated that 20% of farm family have been unable to produce hence reducing the average household food production. Formerly, this district was known to be self sufficient in terms of food supply and food shortages were an exception. However, the total food production trends have reduced over the period. This has all been attributed to the following factors:

• Insurgency • Post harvest food losses • Cultural practices in which lots of food is eaten • Poor farming methods • Unreliable weather conditions • Poor storage facilities

Food and Cash crops The major crops grown in Gulu district are categorized into three and they include food crops, cash crops and some newly introduced crops, and most of these crops are for dual purpose that is for both food and or sale.

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Production of food crops like rice, groundnuts, simsim, Bananas, sun flower and millet have increased. Other major food crops include; maize, sorghum, sweet potatoes, cassava, beans, pigeon peas, cow peas and yams. The traditional cash crops are cotton and tobacco, but due to the decreasing prices and limited access to markets their production has reduced over the last 25 years. The cotton development sector is currently being implemented and there is hope that the crop will soon be revitalized. The crops grown initially are shown in the table below. Crop production in Gulu District in metric tones Crop 1998 1999 2000 Maize 21,510 22,583 23,713 f/millet 8,223 5,756 6,044 Sorghum 14,788 20,704 21,740 Rice 58,725 61,661 23,534 Cotton - - 420 Groundnuts 15,260 16,023 16,826 Simsim 4,273 4,486 - Beans 18,619 19,549 16,420 Sweet potatoes 85,275 89,538 94,005 Cassava 161,760 169,864 170,320 Bananas 11,145 11,702 12,225 Cow peas 1,256 1,318 1,176 Sugar cane 124,000 130,020 136,070 Source: Department of agriculture, Gulu District, 2004 Agriculture contribute a lot to the economy of the district. Here the farmers sell their produce from which the district gets some revenue from produce dealers and processors. Introduced crops to the district The newly introduced crops include Coffee, Vanilla Irish potatoes. Their performance can be evaluated as follows: Coffee: it is performing very well and farmers have taken up the growing o coffee seriously. For the first time farmers have sold 3.11 metric tones of Kiboko coffee. Irish potatoes: this one has not taken off very well since a few farmers are still involved in its cultivation. Vanilla: this was introduced recently and farmers have shown interest in it by ordering for the vines for planting. The earlier planted vanilla has not yet produced pods. However there are some problems encountered in the introduction of these new crops and these are: Coffee:

• The coffee nursery operators who supplied the farmers with seedlings have not been paid for over two years.

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• About 450,000 seedlings have over grown in the nursery because Uganda Coffee Development Authority has not authorized their distribution.

• Lack of personnel to handle the coffee authority at the district level. • Many farmers can not take up the crop because of inaccessibility to their own

land. • Some coffee trees planted in fairly distant places can not be managed because of

insecurity • There is yet no ready market for coffee in the district

Irish potatoes: • The seeds are very expensive and not readily available • Farmers can not afford the fungicides like Dithane M45, which is a must when

growing the crop Vanilla:

• The cuttings are not accessible because no farmer in the district has an established vanilla farm

• The stakes for planting vanilla are insufficient The growing of coffee and vanilla are environmentally friendly since when growing shade trees are usually opening up a new land. The soil is therefore protected from agents of erosion by the vegetation cover. With this intact vegetation, the ecological niches of many micro-organisms are also preserved. Food security There are some new technologies that have been introduced so as to ensure relative food security and improve on farmers’ livelihood. These include:

• Improved seeds like beans (K132), maize (Longe 1), soybean (Nam 2), many varieties of cassava and groundnuts being introduced by NGOs and the district.

• Water pumps like the treadle pumps and money maker • Ram press BP30, ram 32 for pressing sunflower seeds • Cassava slicher and grater AT(U) • Introduction of the shear nut butter press and peanut grinder • Bio-gas from cow dung

In the struggle to improve food security there are some NGOs who are directly involved like WFP which supplies food ration to the Community in the camps. ACDI/VOCA, WV, Care International, CRS-Uganda, Caritas, Church of Uganda, FAO and UNFA among others are partners in the strife.

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Agronomic practices The farmers are predominantly smallholders who use traditional methods of farming like slash and burn and this is usually associated to shifting cultivation. However, this is currently occasionally practiced due to insecurity. The agricultural implements used are rudimentary although a few farmers have access to tractors. Most crops are grown over and over again using mainly family labour. The reasons why such traditional practices have persisted include;

• Poor markets for the produce • Poor infrastructure • Inaccessibility to some of the farm lands • Low levels of technology and managerial skills • Shortage of credit facilities

Such methods of farming tend to have an implication on the rate of food production as well as food security in the district. But to improve on such situations, the district is carrying out a number of activities to aid solve these problems. These include:-

• Training of farmers on modern methods of crop production • Setting up demonstrations on recommended agricultural practices and new

technologies. • Introduction of improved seeds that are early maturing, disease and pest resistant

and high-yielding. • There is now great emphasis by the field extension workers on farming as a

business. Effects of Cultural Practices on Agricultural Production. Some of the cultural and religious practices in the district do not encourage increased food production and food security as a whole. Some of these practices include over burdening of women and children, numerous cultural festivals in which lots of food are wasted and the extended family system which is quite common in the area. The causes of this kind of scenario are:-

• Poorly developed formal or national social welfare system • Low levels of technical education • Limited sources of income or economic alternatives

This situation encourages high levels of poverty and dependency and therefore calls for community development programs directed towards the women and youth so as to cater for their urgent needs. Extension The extension services provided to the farmers is still poor despite the government policy of recruitment of extension staff in charge of counties. This problem has been escalated due to:-

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• Inadequate funding to motivate the extension workers. • Inadequate number of the graduate extension workers to cover the whole district. • Insecurity which does no allow easy accessibility to areas of operations. • Inadequate transport for the extension workers.

With regards to the above factors, there is therefore need for more support towards extension services. In the course of crop production, there are a number of activities which are under taken and known to cause some environmental degradation. For instance draining of most wetlands for crop production by farmers. This is noted to cause interruption of the hydrological cycle since water is left to go to no destination. In addition, as wetland is cleared, many sources of drinking water become polluted since sediments, nutrient and toxin retention is reduced/interrupted due to vegetation loss. This vegetation performs a function of the filtering, absorption and ion exchange. Further more, wetland is host to biological diversity by offering refuge to fauna and flora that play vital roles in ecological food chains. Its destruction leads to an interruption of these food chains with detrimental effects such as loss of aquatic animal and plant species. These particular problems call for intensive awareness creation and bye law formulation /implementation to safe guard the future of the wetlands. This is hoped to bring about sustainable crop production within the wetlands. In addition there is need to practice recommended agro-forestry technologies which does not drain the water from the wetlands. Policy issues There are some existing policies on agriculture in the district and these include the policy on food security, policy on agricultural extension and education, soil policy, policy on disease and pest control and the land policy. Livestock/range lands Overview Gulu district was noted for its livestock wealth as an economic power before the out break of the war in 1986. Livestock were sold to cater for urgent needs and to settle expenditure which required large amounts of money like school fees, and dowry. This war has led to loss of this wealth both in terms of numbers and categories rendering people very poor and factors which attributed to the loss include the following :-

• Insurgency • Actual sales by farmers in fear of cattle rustling

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• Migration to other districts • Shortage of drugs • Displacement of livestock and their owners to the camps which are rather

congested • Out breaks of Rinderpest in 1989.

Today however, the major categories of livestock in the district include the following; -Bovine species (local and exotic cattle like the zebu/ankole cattle) -Caprine species (local and exotic goats) -Ovine species (sheep) -Porcine species (local and exotic pigs) -Rabbits (local and exotic) -Poultry (chicken local, broilers and layers, ducks, turkeys, geese, pigeons, Guinea fowls) The table below shows the trends of livestock population in the district in relation to the reasons earlier mention. Livestock development trends: Gulu district is painfully trying to rebuild its livestock population as indicated below. Table : Livestock development trends

Year L.C Z.G Shoats Pigs BLS Layers 1995 900 52 2100 - 4,316 1,040 1996 990 71 2900 - 5,287 1,105 1997 1237 86 10,000 200 6,048 1,015 1998 1546

140 17,000 1800 8,736 2,410

1999 1933 190 24,000 4,000 11,453 3,036 2000 4133 241 29,000 5,000 13,256 3,706 2001 4960 253 30,000 6500 14,625 3,460 2002 6200 264 34,000 6800 12,720 3,508 2003 7750 278 36,000 7000 11,695 2,250 2004 9688 833 38,000 8400 45,578 2,325

Source: District Veterinary Department, Gulu 2004) KEY: L.C=local cattle, G.C=Shoats (Goats and sheep) BLS=Broilers Z.G=zero grazing District Assets for livestock development The district has some assets which are meant for livestock Development. However most of them are in a sorry state due to this insecurity which does not allow access and these are:-

• On square mile of land at Opit for guarantie • There are Veterinary centre at Anaka (needs renovation) and at Patiko for milk

collection which needs rebuilding. This is a potential for milk processing centre.

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• Former Got Apwoyo Ranch in Purongo • Brooder centre in Pece which can be used as a future Hatchery • 0.25 hectares of land in Lagony Road earmarked for a laboratory ideal for disease

investigation. Stocking From the above table, the population of the animals in the district can be concluded on. This slide increase in these numbers has been as because of the restocking programme. However there is still need for more restocking. Other stake holders are Heifer Project International, Christian Children fund, AVSI, NV (New vision), Send-A- cow Uganda (SACU). Livestock in the District is kept for both commercial and domestic consumption purposes. The farming systems used include zero grazing/range grazing, tethering systems for the sheep and pigs, intensive or semi-intensive keeping of poultry and rabbits. Range management Rangelands in Gulu district are still managed mainly using traditional systems like bush burning so as to control vegetation growth. At times, most of the rotational grazing rangelands are completely burnt leaving no grass and limited opportunity for re-growth. However, this is not a sustainable way of managing pasture land since it leads to degradation of the land. There are a number of reasons why traditional range management has persisted and they include the following;

• Diseases tsetse attacks on cattle and man • Ensure enough pasture for every livestock and crop production. • Inadequate extension services due to poor staffing positions in the Department • Ignorance on the dangers of poor farming methods • Subsistence/small scale farming practices

With resettlement back to villages, people should be educated on the importance of individual land ownership and proper land utilization. Currently the range lands are growing wild and without being utilized. Tsetse Fly In Gulu district, there are a number of insect vectors which include tsetse flies, black flies, and mosquitoes among others. Because the district ranges high among those infested with tsetse flies in Uganda. Entomology department is mandated with the task of controlling these tsetse flies. Tsetse flies transmit two serious diseases which are sleeping sickness in humans and Nagana in livestock and wild animals. The tsetse flies have their habitat is in the wetland with thickets. They are not migratory; they spread slowly if not controlled. New development is that the tsetse flies are now following people in the camps.

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Tsetse population along the thickets has always been increasing because of insecurity which has forced people along with their animals congested in the IDP camps where the man tsetse contact is rare. The entire thickets are heavily re-infested by Riverine tsetse flies but there are few people to infect hence reduced incidences of disease transmission to both humans and livestock. The tsetse fly of the Glossina fuscipes species however is one of the major forces behind low development of the livestock industry in Gulu. Tsetse flies are particularly prevalent in Atiak and Palaro sub-counties in Kilak County as well as in the neighboring Amuru Pabbo, Awach and Paicho. Recent spot surveys revealed that various areas of the southern part of the district, specifically Omoro and Nwoya counties, are highly infested with the insect vectors, which are along river Tochi and Pece which are all thicketed swamps. The causes of high incidence of insect/diseases in the livestock include;

• Vast and inhabited woodlands • Large numbers of alternative hosts to the pests and diseases like wild pigs • Insufficient drug supplies and extension services • Inadequate fund for preventing and treating the affected animals

Interventions

• Use of trypanocidal drugs eg. Samorin, Ethiduim, Berenil for curative and preventive purposes

• Education and sensitization of livestock farmers At present only two methods are effectively being used by the department of Entomology:-

• Deployment of insecticide impregnated tsetse traps and • Live bait technique – here, the animals are sprayed with insecticide having long

residual effects to kill the tsetse flies as they move along the habitat while feeding or drinking water.

• Spraying of cattle example with Decatix The Entomology Department is predicting sleeping sickness epidemics if tsetse flies are not controlled by the time people go back to their homes/villages at the end of this insecurity. Sustainable livestock production is possible through proper stocking rate to avoid over grazing, rational grazing, and good strong farming area. This Department also promotes useful insects because of their demanded products like bee keeping for the production of honey and other products like bee wax, and propolis besides pollination of crops, hence making food security assured. This is being done through;

• Advisory Visits to the farmers. • Sensitization of Community over radios, news letters, meetings and

consultations. • Demonstration of appropriate bee keeping technologies

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• Training of farmers. Bee keeping is done in all seasons hence making it environmentally friendly and less labour intensive. Bee hives are put away from the communities to avoid harm from the bees. It is noted that the male farmers participate more in bee keeping because the females are scared of bee stings. Forestry Resources Overview. Forest land in Gulu is categorized as below: - 1. Local Forest Reserves.( LFR) 2. Central Forest Reserves CFR) 3. Community land forests (CLF) 4. Private forests (PF) 5. Forests in areas for other use like national Game Park, Game Reserve. There are 17 CFR, Managed by National Forest Authority (NFA), and 5 LFRs, as in table below a number of community land forests and private land forests under the management of the District Local Government. The natural vegetation of Gulu is predominantly savannah woodland with common species of: - Albizzia spp, Terminalia spp, Combretum spp, Acassia spp in range land acres, Afzelia spp, Erythrina spp, Annona spp, Grewia, Vitex spp and Butyrespermum spp. Others are Militragyna stipulosa, Khaya, Senegalesis, Phonenix spp, along streams and rivers. In the 1950s and early 60s, an Indian had a Sawmill in Olwal CFR but the revenue was collected by the central Government. Pitsawying started in early 1980s using conventional ripsaws, but now the practice has flared so drastically in the late 1990s to date using sophisticated chain saws. Gulu district now gains direct financial benefits from charcoal burning, firewood, and pits sawing from Local Forest Reserves, a number of community land forests and private land. Current issues/problems faced in Forestry:

• Encroachment –Cultivation, settlement • Deforestation - Charcoal burning - Firewood - Timber cutting

-Poles etc. • Un controlled annual bush fires • inadequate sensitization due to lack of funds and insecurity

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• Lack of Bye-laws • Poor incentive to plant trees. • Pests: • Poor extension services • Resettlement, Urbanization and Industrialization. • Grazing is not a big issue now, however, with restocking in place, overgrazing is

now confined to areas bordering the IDP’s • Over grazing

Effects of camps on the forest resources. In addition to the Government owned forest, Community land forest has also been substantially destroyed by encroachers. At least 5 sq. km bordering the camps have been totally cleared of the covers for charcoal, fire wood, poles and cultivation purpose. The establishment of IDP’s in areas near the forest reserves have highly led to encroachment in the forests as seen in Unyama, Loyobboo and Paicho IDP Camps which are only 2 km from Abera forest, Opit and Lalogi Camps only1.5 kms from Opit CFR .While Olwal, Kaladima and Parabongo Camps are as swell in close proximity to Olwal CFR among others.

The sub counties most affected include Lamogi, with four IDPs, Attiak, Amuru, Paicho, Koch Goma, Bobbi, Anaka/Purongo, Lalogi, Ongako, Bungatira, Koro, Patiko, Aleroand Awach. Planted forest of Opaka, Opok, Opit, Olwal, Abera and Bobi have almost all been destroyed. Re-known community forests of Opok, Omel, Lujorongle, Guruguru, Ter Opidi, Koch kalang, Wii lacic/Lela Obaro and others have also all been cleared and settled in and others turned into farm lands. While most of the PFEs have lost their natural vegetation to cultivation and to some extend settlement This high rate of encroachment is attributed to:

• the growing population, • search for fertile soil, grazing land, and • Demand for land itself for other development purposes.

Current Effects of Forest Destruction:

• Loss of biodiversities as most of the forestland has been destroyed. • Shortage of fuel wood/charcoal hence people walk along distant in search of the

same. And in doing so they meet other risks like abduction by the rebels (LRA), rape cases, and girl child missing schools. Malnutrition has also resulted since food is not well cooked properly to avoid loss of the little fuel wood collected.

• Drying of rivers/streams as watersheds have been destroyed like Keyo Central forest Reserves. Erosion and land slides as most of the hilltops have been cleared of tree vegetation.

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• Decline agricultural productivity due to soil erosion resulting to poor agricultural production hence leading to mulnutriction..

• Increasing population /level of Development (construction/ building industry) of Gulu Municipality has lead to the demand for Gulu Forestry Plantation from the National Forestry Authority to be de-gazetted and moved to Kilak hills. This development at the same time has caused terrible effect on the landscape of Keyo CFR through stone Quarrying work and clearance of trees for heating the rocks. This has resulted to drying of the River basins in the area

Interventions The district is carrying out the following intervention measures to aid in the management of the forestry resources.

• Sensitization and awareness campaigns in tree planting and forestry conservation. • Formation of tree planting groups like the women, and youth groups, also tree

planting in institutions such as primary, secondary Schools, health centres etc. • Encourage nursery establishment by groups, institutions, and communities. So far

there are 9 individual tree nurseries, 11 women/group tree nurseries in the district. In addition 27 youth groups have registered to open tree nurseries. The District also gives support to the community, groups and individuals with tree seeds and polythere bags.

• The Environment Department established 2 tree nursery beds in GMC and in Pabbo S/C and gave support to 7 Schools in tree planting.

• The above Department is also training and establishing energy saving stoves in the community to reduce the rate of fuel loss and destruction of the forestry for fuel wood cutting.

• EU Acholi Programmes in 2002 supported institutions and community with 40,000 seedlings.

• World food programme is undertaking a Food for Asset programme by planting trees in primary schools and IDPs camps. Over 200,000 seedlings have already been raised and some 20-hectare planted.

• The District now has establishing the District Forestry Services Office in line with the National forestry and tree planting Act 2003, as the NFA has opened its office in Gulu. This will improve the management of the forestry sector in the district in terms of manpower.

Pests: - The problem of Pests/Termites has persisted due to the ecological conditions of the district and the inadequate control measures which is I place and requires to be addressed. Worst are the termites which has remained a very notorious forestry pest in the district and of late the Eucalyptus aphides are also causing problems. This is discouraging farmers from planting trees. Reports from the community show that almost all the trees like Eucalyptus planted of late have been destroyed.

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Policy matters To date, the district has not yet come up with its policy on forestry management although the management of forests is still following the National Forestry Act of 2003. However the district is in the process of forming bye-laws on forest management as well as some ordinances to secure some endangered and or threatened tree species eg Butrespernum species, Melicia species, Khaya species as well as increasing areas under forests. Extension The forest extension services are quite poor. There are very few extension staff in the District and they can not easily move to rural areas due to lack of logistics and insecurity. It’s expected that forestry extension will be run in line with NAADS guidelines

Incentives for tree planting:-

Incentives should be given to community /farmers engaged in tree planting in order to encourage others. Government and NGO should also consider supporting the forestry sector just like its being done to Agriculture by way of provision of seeds, inputs and to some extend chemicals. Because of the war, the farmers have very low income therefore cannot easily afford to buy tree seedlings, seeds, inputs and open land for tree planting. However, the following organizations have been and others are still giving a hand. Notably in the past few years, ACORD, EU Acholi Programme and CPAR, while ongoing are WORLD VISION, WFP, and NEMA through the DEO. Forestry products and their uses The main product includes:- a) Wood products

• Timbers used for construction and making of furniture, • Fuel wood and Charcoal for production of energy, • Building poles for construction and fencing tool handle, faggots for building

b) Non wood products

• Fodder for animal feeds, • Medicine treatment of both animal and human being, • Rids for making, chair, and building huts, • Fruit eating for both animal and man, • Habitats for birds and wild animals • Other minds like sands and stones are also found and used especially for

construction, and also resins used in chemical industry. Trade in forestry (markets) Most of the forestry products get their market locally like timber is consumed within in the construction industry while fuel wood is consumed both in urban and rural settings for energy production. The District’s revenue from forestry product is expected to come form:-

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• Levying tax for transporting firewood and charcoal, • Registration fees on pitsawying, timber trading, charcoal production, casual trade

on non-timber products, forest fees on sawn wood from non-VAT registered producers.

However, there’s not yet much gained from these sources because of the current insurgency which does not allow normal implementation of planned activities. Table Status of the permanent forest estates and community land forest in Gulu

Names of forest

Nature Type Area coverage (ha)

Location Status

Abera CFR Natural Plantation

762.96 423.37

Paicho Paicho

267.09 destroyed and cultivated, 146.47 being harvested by saw miller. Massive cultivation and charcoal burning.

Amuka CFR Natural 1,101 Paicho Charcoal burning and cultivation have destroyed the trees.

Lagute CFR Natural 3.32 Awach The areas were cultivation and charcoal burning took place, but now it is regenerating.

Lukodi CFR Plantation Natural

163 Patiko Plantation of eucalyptus destroyed way back and the natural trees have been partly encroached on.

Olwal CFR Plantation Natural

11.58 1373.5

Lamogi Partly destroyed (6 ha) of pines massive. Cultivation, charcoal burning.

Keyo CFR Natural 759 Lamongi Protected forest but destroyed for charcoal burning & cultivation

Bobi CFR Plantation 05

Bobi Housing and IDPs but being planted under the integrated pilot wood farming.

Abili CFR Plantation 05 Koro The planted trees have also been destroyed Opaka CFR Plantation

Natural 210 Koro Plantation destroyed, 80 hacres being planted by

private trees owners with eucalyptus. Opok CFR Plantation 526 Koro Seed orchard of pines-1 ha, eucalyptus destroyed,

20 ha, planted & massive cultivation going on. Gulu plantation

CFR Plantation 93 Laroo Being rehabilitated by private trees growers.

Opit CFR Plantation Natural

274.40 4853.44

Lalogi ¾ destroyed for charcoal, cultivation and timber production.

Kilak Hills CFR Savannah woodland natural

10,205 Pabbo Savannah woodland is intact.

Labala CFR Savannah woodland

1,675 Pabbo Grassland is intact, only for Bamboo harvesting.

Got gweno CFR Savannah woodland

2,310 Lamogi Forest is intact, only for minor Bamboo harvesting.

Weceri CFR Savannah woodland

6470 Amuru Forest is intact, only for some illegal pit sawing.

Gwengdiya CFR Savannah woodland

171 Alero Savannah woodland partly destroyed by encroachers & cultivation.

Anaka CFR Savannah woodland

03 Anaka Plantation but encroached.

Paicho CFR Savannah woodland

03 Paicho Encroached.

Pabbo CFR Savannah woodland

03 Pabbo Encroached.

Cwero CFR Plantation 08 Paicho Encroached. Koch Goma CFR Savannah 05 Koch Goma Encroached.

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Wild life resources Over view The wildlife protected areas in Gulu district essentially comprise of the Northern part of Murchison Falls National Park (MFNP). North of this park, there is the former Aswa-Lolim Game reserve and Kilak Controlled Hunting Area (CHA) which extends the park’s wildlife dispersal area into the remote forests and grasslands of the East Madi CHA. MFNP which covers an area of 3,860 sq km was declared by Legal notice of 1952 as a protected area and it comprises a rolling Combretum savanna and tall grass in the center and north, and dense thicket in the higher and wetter areas in the south. The major attractions in this park include; the unique Murchison Falls and River with its Hippos, serried Crocodile, Elephant and Buffalo. The park formerly had other species like the Lion, Leopard, Warthog,Bblack Rhino, Giraffe, Water buck, Uganda Kob, Lewel hartebeest and Lesser Antelope which are no longer there as well as a great variety of bird species. Aswa-lolim game reserve and Kilak CHA were gazzeted in 1972 in order to make a way for private ranches. Together with the East Madi CHA, Aswa-Lolim Game Reserve and Kilak CHA were once important wet season dispersal area for elephants and other species of MFNP. Currently, the overall impression of the Aswa-lolim and East Madi areas is one of the emptiest, remote grasslands, woodlands and forests. The absence of large wildlife species suggests that the area has been very heavily hunted. Access into Aswa-lolim and East Madi is at present limit. Poaching Poaching in the wildlife protected areas of Gulu District is said to have had serious impact in the early 1960s by the indigenous people. In 1961, the Game Department reported that, the only region where large scale hunting continued unchecked was in the Acholi region and that the people showed completely no interest in game conservation. (Lamprey, R.H.et al 1996). The causes of poaching in the district include;

• Political instability • Competition for land between wildlife and other forms of land use • Alienation of local communities • Ineffective enforcement of law and/or management

Management Effective management of wildlife resources in the district suffered a great deal during political turmoil in the late 1970s and also since 1987. Ineffective management of wildlife is attributed to the following;

• Inadequate funding from the Government

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• Negative attitudes of the local people • Insecurity

As a result of the ineffectiveness in the management system, poaching and encroachment in the protected areas went on unabated. This resulted in loss of variety of wildlife species. The tourism master plan for Uganda has got proposals for improvement of institutional capacity for instance this is seen in the establishment of the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). It is worth reporting that the rate of poaching has drastically reduced with only a few pockets of poaching. This change is noted mainly after the formation of Uganda Wildlife Authority. This organization has initiated a program known as Community Development through Conservation in every Parish surrounding the Park. And to date many achievement like construction of Vocational schools, goat rearing, tree planting have been made. With this in place, there is hope that the animals and the plant populations will increase. Vermin Animals from the wildlife protected areas are still a menace to the nearby communities. Baboons, wild pigs, monkeys and other animals usually move out to destroy people’s property and especially crops. Some of these animals play hosts to pests which cause diseases such as sleeping sickness in people and nagana in cattle. The loss of crops, people and even domestic animals, further has led to increased hatred in wildlife conservation. On the other hand, encroachment of the park land (MFP) by the community and lack of knowledge on how to control the vermin’s have contributed to the persistence of the above conflict. Other factors include:

• Existing laws and regulation which give priority to wildlife other than people • Laxity in the management of wildlife over the years by the respective authority • Scarcity of food and water for animals in their gazette areas • Insecurity

Persistent insecurity in the district has and is still one of the main constraints to wildlife conservation in Gulu District. This has as well increased the rate of poaching and encroachment in the wildlife protected areas, since there is minimal control on the activities that take place in these areas. The mobility of both people and animals is also another threat to wildlife in the region.

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Aquatic ecosystems Water resources Water is an important concern to all living organisms because it is one of the most important life support systems on earth. The main natural water resources in Gulu district include Rivers like the Nile, Aswa, Ayago, Unyama, Tochi and Ayugi. While the sources of domestic water supply include; shallow wells, boreholes, protected springs, and piped water supply mainly in the Municipality. These water bodies form about 2% of the total land area. More so, there’s also a great potential of ground water resources which can be exploited through under ground water extraction technology. Quantity, Quality and supply The estimated domestic safe water coverage is at 56.2% of the population which is still below the expected national coverage of 60%. This is still inadequate and results to a lot of struggle and congestion at water points because most of the district safe water supplies are left unused due to the ongoing insurgency in the region.

At the same time, as a result of congestion in the camp and struggle for water, there is a lot of violence, and even women spend a lot of time at sources in stead of doing other socio-economic activities. In addition several girl child and other children have missed and fallen out of school, been raped and abducted while in search of long distance water points. In rural areas, even now people still share water sources with animals and this has caused a lot of waterborne diseases likes Schistosomiasis (Bilharzias) and others. Some of the few existing safe water sources are also not so reliable due to their seasonal nature. In addition to Municipal, there is piped water from motorized wells in other big IDP Camps like Pabbo, Anaka, Atiak and Palenga.

Water Problem is acute in the District. Congestion at the Water point can lead to pollution

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There are a number of issues contributing to the inadequate water quantity supply and these are;

• Uneven distribution of rainfall • High evapo- transpiration rates • High level of dams and valley siltation • Poor soils with low retention capacity • Poor bridge construction • Pollution of water sources • Land use practices like wetland degradation • Displacement which has led to a number of BHS abandoned.

In an effort to ensure adequate water quantity, the district is being supported by the Central Government through funding of projects in the Local Government Development Progammes like PAF, through donor support from NGOs like European Union, NUSAF, AMREF CPAR and UNICEF among others. Although there is need to increase safe water coverage in the district to meet the over whelming need of the community, the community is also urged to take up the management and ownership responsibilities of these water sources seriously to ensure functionality of these sources. While in Municipality, there is observed improvement in the services provided by the NW&SC. The water lines have been extended to almost all the suburb areas within the Municipality. However, despite these efforts, the safety of the awter has quite often been interfered with due to poor sanitation and waste management by the community. Further more, the area around the source (pumping station) Oitino River, is being highly degraded by farmers. In some areas of GMC also, like Queens Avenue and especially during the rainy seasons, there are always problems of broken sewer lines which contribute to pollution of the water sources. Other factors include:-

• Poor storage facilities • Degradation of wetlands

Generally poor water quality tends to lead to poor health and risk of epidemic outbreak. There’s an initiative by the WATSAN programmed to improve the water quality and promote proper sanitation and hygiene practices. Water Supply Management Most, if not all the water sources in the district serve both livestock and domestic uses and are poorly maintained, hence making it difficult to ensure sufficient supply and water quality control. This kind of situation has resulted from the following factors;

• Inadequate management skills by local communities

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• Inadequate extension services and institutional support • Insufficient funds to fund some of the water development projects • Insecurity • Insufficient policy governing the management and conservation of natural water

sources Interventions. The environment office and NFA are trying to control degradation of the water sources by planning and monitoring activities around the water catchments. In addition, the ministry of water lands and environment through the directorate of Water development has initiated consultant studies on strategy reform for water resources management. It is believed that the results of this study will come up with policy guidelines on the implementation of water resources management functions. When this action is channeled down through the Decentralization Policy, it will help in managing and conserving the water resources in the district. The district has developed a management structure which is arranged to help in the management of the water sources and ensure safe water resources management. This structure is arranged as follows;

• Water source committee at the safe water source, • Water and sanitation committee • Water and Sanitation committee at the sub county, • The district water and sanitation committee (at the district level which comprises

of related Departments and NGOs), • The ministry of Water Lands and Environment.

However if the Management and Conservation Policy is ignored the following negative impacts are likely to arise;

• Drying up of some of the water sources like swamps and shallow wells. • Loss of some species of animals or aquatic life hence limiting the nutrients for

human consumption (fish). • Increased drought due to inadequate rainfall. • Loss of wetland vegetation.

Catchments Area Most of the water catchments have been degraded especially in the central and eastern parts of the district. This degradation is as a result of the following;

• Increased population pressure which impacts on the water resources • Uncontrolled seasonal fires • Political instability which has affected the settlement patterns • Lack of community awareness on the management of the water catchments

This degradation has resulted to increased flooding, soil erosion, silting of dams and or valley tanks, which in turn affect the water quality.

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Policy issues Gulu District follows the legal provisions in the documents like: the Constitution, 1995, the Local Government Act, 1995, the Water Statute (1995), the Sewage Regulations, the Water Resources Regulations (1998) and the Water Supply Regulations (1999). It has not formulated its own District Water Policy. Sanitation and hygiene promotion. Good sanitation and hygiene practice is very crucial if we are to control most communicable diseases within one society. However as per the latest District Sanitation status up date carried out in 1999, sanitations coverage within house hold is at 24.5% and institutional sanitations (primary schools and health centre) at 70%. These have even been worsened by the recent massive displacement of people in to IDP Camps and currently sanitation coverage range at 10- 20% for house holds and 40- 60% for institutions. This therefore explains the frequent out break of water and sanitation related diseases in these IDP Camps. Technological options in use. The most common technologies used in the provision of latrines are; Traditional pit Latrine (TPL) Ventilated improved latrines (VIP), Sand plats and undischargeable Latrines. Currently, a new technology which is environmentally friendly is being experimented that is the Ecological Sanitation Systems (ECO- SAN). The DWO has already constructed one block for demonstration and four (4) others are planned in the four Health Sub- District (HSD) for piloting in all the 4 counties of the District. This is planned to be put in the HSDs) of Awach, Atiak, Anaka and Lalogi. This system (the Eco-San) aims at achieving the following goals; (1) Disease prevention by sanitizing human feaces, hence zero infection. (2) Reduced water uses, thus prevention of pollution and. (3) Recovery of plant nutrients by recycling human feaces, hence zero waste. Technology behind ecological sanitation systems Ecological sanitation (ECO-SAN) is an alternative conventional sanitation system. The ECO-SAN also attempts to address the short comings of the traditional systems. It is based on an Eco-system approach and treats human urine and feaces as a valuable resources to be recycled, and preventing pollution rather than attempting to control it. It takes away smell, reduces quantity to handle and makes human excreta harmless when being used as fertilizers

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Wetlands The district is well endowed with both temporary and permanent wetlands. The wetland covers a very small percentage of the total land area and the majorities are seasonal. The permanent wetlands are; Layibi, Aworanga, Oyitino and Pece wetland and a few others in the sub counties which are now being destroyed by various human activities like sand mining, Burning for farming purposes, dumping solid wastes, settlement, cultivation and planting exotic tree species like eucalyptus among others . **Scan here picture of papyrus swamp being burnt for agricultural purpose** Reclamation Most of the wetlands especially those relatively close to the settlements are susceptible to reclamation for agricultural purposes. Most swamps have been reclaimed for growing horticultural crops like sugar cane, vegetables and fruits for sale in the urban areas. In some cases, rice growing has also contributed to swamp reclamation in the more so in the Sub counties. The causes of wide spread reclamation in the district include the following:-

• War situation which displaced people from their traditional farmlands • Insufficient soil moisture content to sustain crops away from the wetlands • Increased urban population • Inadequate laws and regulation • There is a tendency to degrade wetlands without due consideration of their

ecological importance. Utilization In addition to agriculture, wetlands have other vital functions and values such as being a source of building materials and other raw materials for pottery, mat weaving, basket making and many other materials. They are also sources of water supply and provide proteins (food) like fish. However due to the unplanned and unsustainable utilization of the wetlands, it has been noted that the productivity of these wetlands declining. The factors contributing wetland degradation in include;

• Monoculture: This is common with sugar cans which have dominated most swamps and have replaced papyrus

*** Scan Picture of Sugar cane **

• Over cultivation • Insecurity which also displaced people form their farm land hence has no

alternative farm land to resort to. • Rigidity of the community to abide by the national policy and the guide lines

regarding the use and management of wetlands

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• Misinterpretation of the law hence competition for ownership of various forms by the local communities

• Inadequate knowledge of the laws and policy. • Lack of bye laws on wetland use and management.

Regardless of all the listed values, wetlands have and are still regarded as wastelands. In Gulu district, some wetlands around the Municipality act as a dumping ground for waste from small scale factories and domestic wastes. In some (example Pece) wetland there are Lagoons which are constructed to uphold sewage. Pollution of the water bodies is a common problem which is mainly in the urban settings as well as in the camps which are highly congested. The major causes of pollution in the wetlands include the following;

• Lack of quality standards • Inadequate monitoring systems • Catchments are heavily degraded • Poor sanitary conditions in the wetlands

Policy, laws and regulations Despite the availability of a number of Policy Document like the Constitution of 1995, National Wetland Policy, 1995, the Lake Shores, The National Environment (wetlands, River Banks and Lake shores Management) Regulations 2000, the wetlands and the Law, which gives comprehensive information on wetland management accompanied sensitizations, the communities have continued to destroy these resources. In addition, there is wrangle for of ownership of the wetlands and hindrance of accessibility to other community members. The Constitution of 1995, spells it clearly that the Government holds the Wetlands in trust for the benefit of all the citizens of Uganda; in this case therefore, no particular person owns the wetlands. But many people seem to be ignorant about this policy or misinterpretation. This has resulted into massive destruction/reclamation of the wetlands. The National Wetland Inspection Division produced a number of guidelines as regards the utilization, management and conservation of wetlands. These documents are inline with the foundation that was laid in 1986, by the Government of Uganda which issued administrative guidelines to curtail the degradation of wetlands. The district does no have either the ordinances or bye law to be enforced to control wetland uses. It is therefore in line that the district formulates the district policy on wetland management, ordinances and the bye laws. This therefore requires that National Wetland Inspection Division train on bye law formulation and the enforcement officers as well.

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Fisheries resources Gulu District has the R. Nile on its border with Masindi and Nebbi Districts and River Aswa on the border with Kitgum and Pader. These rivers are well endowed with fish which if sustainably exploited, would extremely cater for present and future generations. In addition, it would greatly supplement the nutritional requirements for many households in the district leading to improvement of health status of the people. Besides, the district is potentially endowed with good rainfall and many small rivers, springs and wetlands which have water throughout the year and are particularly important for enhancing fish farming Culturally most of the people in the district are fish consumers (about 90%). Before and after the 2nd world war, the people continued to hunt for fish from available rivers, streams, and swamps using various fishing methods (baskets, traps, spears, poison and others) , particularly during dry seasons. Despite the above potentials, fish is still being supplied from out side sources on weekly basis. This supply is largely from the lakes and rivers located in the other neighboring and far off districts (Apac, Lira, Nakasongola, Mpigi, Wakiso, Masindi, Nebbi, and Kalangala). This makes the fish market readily available hence the potentials of the fishing market and industry in the district. Total of 896 fish ponds are constructed and in use and most fish farmers are still small scale subsistence farmers to compete favorably with sources of fish from the lakes and rivers Other than the potentials highlighted above, other factors which favor fish industry include:-

• Land availability and soil fertility for fish farming particularly. • Availability of fish feeds and presence of small scale processing industries (rice,

sunflower, and maize millers) wish the great supply of Rastrineobola (mukene) to the district.

• The present of many young men and women who provide the labour force. • The will of the district and commitment of farmers in developing the fishing

industry. • The central and district fisheries technical expertise who provide all the necessary

technical support to the fishing community. • The presence of NARO for developing fishing technology packages.

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The following are limiting factors that have led to low fish production

• Insecurity which led to the abandonment of fish ponds by the farmers • Degradation of wetlands by crop farmers and other industrious people hence

reduction of water quantity in the ponds as well as pollution. • In adequate funds like lack of credit facilities to enable the farmers to invest in

fish farming and fund to the fisheries department Others include poor staffing staffing, inefficient means of transport, inadequate involvement of women in the fishing industry and inadequate knowledge and skills of the farmers to increase pond fish production.

Interventions Although the status of the fishing industry is not so bad, the above mentioned issues are being addressed, to ensure its future prosperity.

• The field Officers are conducting sensitization at household levels in order to involve family members in fish farming with the aim to mainstream gender in development

• Laliya Fish fray has been rehabilitated to produce fish fry and Sensitization is targeting proper pond siting and stocking

• The whole population in Gulu and the Government at large are advocating for peace in the region

• The district also plans to make ordinances and bye laws to address some pertinent issues of the Environment concerns in fisheries industry.

• There is national Restocking programme to restock V-tanks and ponds • Collaborations with NGOs like NRC, WFP, AMREF, and GFA.

Fish species supplied to the district. From the lakes and rivers we have; Rastrineabola (mukene), Alestes baramose (angara), Nile Perch, Oreochromis nilotica (tilapia), Morymyrus kanume (owoto ki lwiyo) Clarias. gariopinus (mud fish), Protopterus euthiopicus (lung fish), Haplocholomis, Barbus, Syndontis (enkolongo/okuke) Tileucotica in fish ponds. While from ponds there are Tilapia nilotica, Tilapia leucostica, Clarias, Haplochromis complex and Protopterus Table : Trend of fish production from Ponds in the district FY 2001/2002 FY 2002/2003 2003/2004 Production in metric tones

27 (mt) 30.6mt 26.6mt

Noted that the above a drop by 13% has been due to some factors stated above Source: District Fisheries Department- Gulu Fish markets: The main market is the Gulu Central market for both dry and wet fish. The condition of the market is however not hygienically sound such as poor sanitation and drainages. The consumers for fish ponds are mainly from the rural house holds who buy these fish from the pond sites at farm gate prices.

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Fish processing There are no fish processing factories in Gulu district However, mukene is milled for integration into poultry and pig feeds by one of the small scale processor. Fish frying is on a small scale and the consumers of the product are majority the “Marua” and alcohol drinkers. However, the Fisheries department plans to have one of its factories situated on the sides of River Nile in Gulu district. They expect to use the Karuma Electric Power Station as source of power if put in place. Legal Provisions As a district there is no definite policy or ordinaries on fisheries yet but operations follow the National policy. This policy requires sustainable management and development of fisheries. The policy states that Fisheries will be managed and developed to promote socially, economically and environmentally sustainable use and development of the fisheries resources so as to meet the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Social services and physical infrastructure Overview In this context, the term social services and physical infrastructure refer to education, health, transport and communication. They are considered significant elements in environmental management because they underpin economic prosperity. Economic prosperity itself depends on the state of the Environment because this development is done using Environmental resources. Therefore, an educated and healthy population is likely to manage their environment well and the reverse is true. The social services and physical infrastructures in the district are generally poor as compared to other parts of the country. Availability There are a total number of five hospitals three of which are government and two are privately owned; 5 health centers, 8 dispensary units, 5 dispensaries and 24 sub-dispensaries as shown in the table below. Table : Major health units in the district County Sub-county Health unit Ownership Status Hospitals Gulu Municipality Laroo Gulu Government Operational Nwoya Anaka Anaka Government Operational Gulu Municipality Bardege 4th division,

UPDF Government Operational

Gulu Municipality Bardege Lacor NGO Operational

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Gulu Municipality Bardege Gulu independent

NGO Operational

Health Centres Aswa Awach Awach Government Not fully

operational Nwoya Koch-Goma Koch-Goma Government Operational Kilak Amuru Amuru NGO Non-

Operational Omoro Lakwana Opit NGO Operational Kilak Pabbo Pabbo NGO Operational Maternity dispensary units Aswa Paicho Unyama Private Operational Gulu municipality Layibi Gulu maternity

home Private Operational

Gulu municipality Layibi Gulu maternity and child care

Private Operational

Kilak Attiak Attiak Government Operational Omoro Bobi Bobi Government Operational Kilak Pabbo Pabbo Government Operational Omoro Lalogi Lalogi Government Not fully

operational Omoro Bobi Bobi Government Operational Dispensaries Gulu Municipality Layibi St.Luke’s NGO Operational Gulu Municipality Bardege St.philip’s NGO Operational Nwoya Alero Alero Government Operational Kilak Lamogi Lamogi Government Operational Aswa Patiko Patiko government Operational Source: District Medical Office Gulu

Transport and communication The road network in Gulu is categorized into: - trunk roads, feeder roads and community roads and this makes a total of 915 km. The district administration has gazzeted another 583.9km. These feeder roads link the district to the major trading centers and sub-county headquarters and these roads are maintained by the District Local Council. There community roads linking the sub county to the farmlands, Health Center, Market and Schools and they are maintained by the Sub county Council. The most common category of roads is the community roads; however the funding for the maintenance is very minimal.

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District feeder roads. Table: District feeder roads. Road Name Length

(Km) Present Condition

Plan Surface Type.

Opit – Aoo 13 Poor Rehabilitation Gravel Abera - Awach 19.6 Fair Maintain Gravel Patiko – Paicho 23 Good Maintain Gravel Awach- Paibona 11 Fair Maintain Earth Kati - Kati-Teman 13 Good Maintain Gravel Nwoya-Lamogi 32 Good Maintain Gravel Awee – Omer 65 Fair Maintain Gravel PABBO – Ceri 43 Good Maintain Gravel Cwero – Minja 40 Good Maintain Gravel Bobi – Goma 21 Good Maintain Gravel/Earth Lugore -Adee 27 Fair Maintain Gravel/Earth Purongo – Lagazi 4 Fair Maintain Earth Laroo – Pageya 4 Fair Maintain Gravel/Earth Lakwatomer – Abili

12.7 Fair Maintain Gravel/Earth

Tochi – Opit 25 Poor Open Earth Goma – Alero 25 Poor Open Earth Akonyibedo -Omoti

22 Poor Build Bridges Earth

Source: Engineering Dept Gulu Table 11.4.2 Trunk roads. Road Length Km Surface Type Status Gulu-Karuma 70 Bituminisized Good Karuma-Pakwach 106 Gravel Bad Gulu-Olwiyo 60 Gravel Fair Pabbo- Attiak 12 Gravel Good Gulu- Patiko 12 Gravel Bad Bobi -Ayer 55 Gravel Good Gulu -Aswa 40 Gravel Fair Custom Corner-Layibi 04 Gravel Good Gulu Corner Rackoko 96 Gravel Poor Gulu-Pabbo 100 Gravel Fair Gulu-Airfield 04 Bituminized Good Source: Ministry of works, transport and communication. In the last five years over 600 km of community Roads have been up-graded, however Environmental Assessment was not done, several gravel borrow pits were opened and not reinstated after the project.

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The problems which are affecting the transport industry include;

• Poor maintenance • Shoddy work by contractors where the road / bridges get eroded or spoiled very

fast ****Scan Picture Of the Bridge ***

• Prohibitive costs of transport • Inadequate funding • Reliance of postal delivery on public transport • Insecurity • Low profits especially with railway transport • Poor and very old railway lines • Remoteness from the city center in Kampala

Quality The quality of social services and infrastructure in Gulu is generally poor. For example at the moment, the doctor patient ratio is one doctor to 2500 patients, enrollment in schools is still very low and most community roads are impassable especially during the rainy season while the railway is non-functional. Postal services are improving with this issue of privatization and cost sharing since it is now a private investment. The reason why there are poor quality social services is because of the following;

• Population pressure on the available services • Shortage of skilled manpower • Inadequate equipments and materials • Poor maintenance and management of facilities • Inadequate funds • Insecurity • High cost of accessing some of the services

The Government of Uganda and Non Governmental Organizations are planning and already implementing some programs to handle the above problems. This programme covers the five main priority areas like Health, Water, Education, Roads and Agriculture. Management The social infrastructure like schools and hospitals are not properly managed and the service delivery is also inadequate. This has led to the deterioration in the service provision especially with the growing of population. The main causes of this decline in the provision of services include the following;

• Poor enumeration

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• Corruption • Inadequate logistics • Over crowding and competition for the few services • Insufficient monitoring and supervision

This results in provision of poor quality services in the district which has adverse impacts on the development process and environmental management Interventions

• Lobby for financial and institutional support from various sources so as to improve the work in these sectors. The Local Government is putting efforts together with other private bodies especially NGOs to bring about positive changes in such sectors.

• More so, Gulu District Council formulated and passed a policy for the

implementation of road works in Gulu District. The policy states how the road works shall be implemented and the use of mainly labour based methods in the work, gender and environmental issues integrated. It also highlights the roles of the various stake holders like the Ministry of Housing and Communication, the District Local Council, the Sub-county Local Council, Transport Organization (OTODA, GTODA) and the Local Community. This policy also stresses the formation of the road committee whose role is to monitor and report complaints on the implementation of the road network. In addition, the policy states that prior to implementation of any road construction, an Environmental Impact Assessment be done

The implementation of this policy has been effective for instance; no reports from the community, no adherence to the environmental and gender guidelines and poor maintenance of the roads. The District therefore intends to revise this policy and set for its implementation Railways Transport. Gulu is connected to Kampala Via Lira, Soroti, Mbale, Tororo and Jinja. The railways line extends in the District and run 160 km in the District through Bwobo, Aparanga, Lolim and into Pakwach Town. Unfortunately it is not operational at the moment The railway used to transports a variety of commodities tendered for transportation as well as passengers who may travel in and out of the district to other parts of the country Considering its importance, it is therefore necessary to revive and extend the service. Air Transport. The District has an air field which existed from the 1950s and has since gone through different stages of development and management; it started serving as an air base in 1965 and was brought under the management and control of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) by statute No. 3 of 1994 as a civil support.

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Eagle airways are the main air transport operator in the District using a 7 – seater aircraft. It operates five flights weekly but there are also occasionally chartered flights to the District. Before the insurgency in 1987, Gulu airport was ranking fourth in terms of domestic passenger handling after Arua, Pakuba and Kasese. But it has now deteriorated and requires rehabilitation and up grading to international status. The common passengers are Government Officials, NGO Officials, visitors, business people and tourists. Postal Services The District has one head post office and four sub-offices. With the existence of the Post bus, Postal Services have improved in the District. Land Line Phone Communication can reach the Municipal while most parts of the District have got Celtel, MTN and Mango Net work coverages. Radio Services. The district has Radio Mega FM, Choice FM, Radio Maria and Radio 4 FM operating within town but with fairly larger coverage. Television The district does not have any functional television station although it was pledged by the president during one of his visits to the district. Therefore there is need to have at least one television station in the district. Environmental health Overview Environmental health is an aspect of public health concerned with all factors, circumstances and conditions in ones physical surrounding which can exert influence on ones health and wellbeing (SOER 1998). The population in Gulu district is exposed to conditions which unconsciously pose a threat to human health. The main causes of this problem in the district are discussed here in. Health facilities and services Available statistics indicate that at present there are only 4 Hospitals in Gulu District; 2 Government and 2 private hospitals, 5 health centre, 8 dispensary/ maternity units, 5 dispensaries and 24 sub-dispensaries.

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The health facilities are not easily accessible to the population because of the long distances to most of the health centres, despite some health units in the IDP camps. Some health facilities are not even in use due to the current insurgency. Some deliveries occurs at home conducted by traditional birth attendants (TBAs) who have been trained of recent in most of the sub-counties with exception of a few which happens without any attendant. . Health care The health infrastructure is characterized by uneven distribution and poor access to health facilities, inadequate services and low per capita expenditure on health. The number of doctors does not also reflect the number of patients in the area. This is mainly because of insecurity and inaccessibility to some of these areas. Pollution Pollution is a common problem in the district and can be classified into water pollution, ground pollution, noise pollution and air pollution. Water pollution is common in places of surface water sources like wells, springs and even piped water which gets contaminated due to:-

• Poor hygiene and sanitation in and around homes • Poor solid waste management • Excessive levels of runoff • Sharing of water sources with animals • Broken sewer lines

It is therefore important to note that pollution of water bodies especially by human excreta is a big danger to human health when continuously ingested. The WATSAN programme has therefore come up to improve water and sanitation in the district. There is also creation of awareness on the dangers of pollution to human health and the environment, since not only are surface waters contaminated but also the under ground water aquifers. Waste management Problem analysis Due to the insurgency, an estimated population of over 468,407 (Census, 2002) live in the established IDP camps with an additional 47,000 people displaced in Gulu Municipal Council. Such kind of settlement system is associated with a number of environmental concerns such as poor solid management among others. The wastes in most parts of the districts are damp every where irrespective of gazzated places. **Scan here a picture of the wastes**

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Most of these camps are established without proper planning or consideration of basic need for the population, like planning for proper sites for solid waste management away from the residence, central public rubbish damping site which could be managed by the community on weekly basis. Sources and types of waste The main types of waste is the solid wastes which mainly originates as domestic waste/ house holds, industrial, factories, office, market ware houses, hotels, and so on. Special waste from abattoirs, hospitals are potential health hazards hence require special attentions for disposal, treatment and handling. However in the district little attention is put to this and they are still mixed up with other wastes which could be made valuable. In GMC, there is a problem of inadequate number of skips and bins, proper landfills or damping sites. Currently, GMC has only one lorry to ferry the rubbish to the dumping site and this takes several days before completing one hip. The tendering process devised by GMC to mange town waste is as well associated with a number of bureaucracies. The main cause of the huge heaps of waste is the poor attitude of community towards waste management and waste generation from their households. In addition, the community have inadequate knowledge that waste is our health and wealth as well as the technology /skills of reusing, recycling and reducing (3Rs). As a result large volumes of refuse are produced and form an enormous public health / problems such as:-

• Epidemics/disease out breaks such as malaria, Diarrhoea, Dysentery, Cholera and many others.

• Pollution of water bodies /sources like the boreholes, protected spring , wells • Clogging and blockages of the water channel and other water ways • Poor soils with polythene (Buvera), metal and other solid remaining in the soils. • . Ugly littering of the compound and homesteads and therefore loss of the beauty

of the area. • Lack of space /resources for other economic activities.

NB This scenario occurs both in GMC and in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPS) camp in Gulu District. However in Gulu municipal, there is hope for private garbage management project, if a project proposal document submitted to Northern Uganda Social Action Fund (NUSAF) is approved. Expired / Unwanted Drugs and Medical Supplies The main goal of disposing expired drugs is to protect the health of the public from potential harm, which may result from the unsafe or infective methods used. The Ministry of Health, National drug Authority and WHO has given guidelines for safe disposal of unwanted pharmaceuticals but these practices are not being strengthened almost throughout the district except use of an incinerator in Gulu Main Referral Hospital.

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Methods of disposal of expired drugs practiced in Gulu are destruction of expired drugs by used of incinerator (found in Lacor and Gulu Hospital), burning on open ground and pouring in dug pit latrines practiced illegally by clinics and drug shops although they are not recommended methods. These have disadvantage in that sometimes the pits gets full and yet the medical staff still continues pouring putting the life of the community especially children at risk. Mishandling of expired drugs or unwanted pharmaceuticals result to contamination of water supplies or local source used by nearby communities or wildlife. In addition expired drugs may come into the hands of the children and this exposes their life to great risk. Lastly, this can lead to contaminations of the soils and destruction of the environment as a whole. The District Drug Officer is trying to ensure that this drug is handled with care by collecting them from the health facilities, drug shops, and clinics hence destroying in incinerator. Also gives advises to the clinics and drug shops owners to collect their waste and destroy them in Gulu Hospital incinerator. For improvement on methods of handling these wastes, health workers (both in private and Government and NGO) should be trained on management of expired drugs so that they always follow correct method of destruction. Secondly, disposal of waste products (expired drugs) should be supervised from time to time for proper disposal And thirdly more incinerators should be constructed in health units and environmentally sound alternatives be built. Lastly the pits where the materials are poured be fenced off from accessibility to the community. Safety measures Most of the workers in homes, public and private offices, as well as small scale industries are not protected from occupational health hazards related to their work/occupation. For instance most of the workers lack protective clothing/gadgets to help them as they work like those in some milling stores lack face masks to guard against inhaling flour particles. This problem is aggravated due to;

• Lack of effective national guidelines • Ineffective law enforcement and monitoring system • Lack of trained personnel like environmental inspectors • Inadequate logistics and equipment • Lack of awareness on the part of workers • High levels of unemployment forcing people to risk in any kind of work

If not monitored, unsafe work measures are a great danger to human health and can lead to a reduction in the life expectancy of the people.

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Policy, Laws and Regulations There is inadequate enforcement of National Policy, Laws and Regulations to protect the workers and the implementation of the existing ones due to:-

• The level of understanding and interpretations of the national policy by the community.

• Reluctance of the community to abide by Policy and the Regulations. 12.6 Interventions

• There is therefore need to provide institutional support to the health and social welfare sectors in the district.

• The local authorities can formulate and pass bye-laws regarding the protection of worker’s health at all possible costs.

• They can help to mobilize and encourage the local community to participate in the formulation and implementation of the laws.

Tourism, industry, mining and cooperatives Tourism The tourism industry in Gulu is poorly developed and almost non-existent. It is not prominent, let alone a promising source of income in the district. Nevertheless, a few tourists occasionally visit the northern side of Murchison falls National Park (MFNP) and its adjoining wildlife areas . The poor development of tourism in the district is attributed to factors like;

• Insecurity • Inaccessibility to some parts of the district • Inadequate tourist sites/spots • Lack of funds to develop the tourism industry

Therefore there is need to put more attention to the development of the tourism industry so as to supplement the sources of income in the district. This can be through conservation of the natural resources and revival of the former tourist sites in the district.

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Mining, Industry and Co-operative Overview Gulu district has only some small scale micro projects which deal in the milling and processing of grain in town and strategic places in the villages. There are also some cottage industries that make mainly crafts like stools, mats, baskets and decorations out of the available raw materials mainly got from the swamps. Mining There are no detailed data on the available mineral resources apart from sand and clay mainly got from the wetlands. The limited geographical investigations show that traces of gold were once found in Attiak-Bibia area and other minerals of less importance like kynite, magnate, Murrum and clay were identified in various places. This therefore calls for more investigation. Industry There are no manufacturing industries in Gulu district. However, there are small-scale establishments like

• Welding plants, carpentry and mechanical workshops, Rice Hullers • Bread making industries some of which have permanent structures - Paklaki,

Northern Bakery and Gulu independent bakery. However, there are many other bakeries with temporary structures with doubted hygienic conditions.

• Paste making machines, • Printing press at Layibi/ Procure and one at Cathedral. • Numerous wood workshops, Metal fabrication dealing mainly with recycling of

metal sheets (to make metal boxes, stoves (cigiri), dust bin, sauce pans). This employ few people of low skills, that is between 5-10 people

• Ginnery though not busy because of low cotton production. • A number of Motor-Vehicle garages are also in place which produces burnt oil,

acid, waste battery used tyres, wheels, and plastic materials and their modes of deposition is no clear.

Noted from such industries are some industrial wastes which include; burnt fuel, abandoned vehicle tyres, old polythene bags and metal scrap. But the levels of management of these wastes have never been authoritatively established. All these industries have no control/mitigation measures in place for these wastes. These are there fore causing a lot of environmental problems to the community like air, water, soil/land pollution and other health related problems. The above problems are being aggravation due to:-

• Lack of an industrial policy for the district. • The fact that the industries are scattered everywhere out side the gazetted places.

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• Workers are not protected and are at risk all working place. • Standards not followed hence the quality of products made are poor.

Interventions required

• The lead agency (District Environment officer) to carry out regular inspection of such places or activities.

• Respective sectoral officers to carry out monitoring of the implementation and progress of the activities.

• The Owners are to set mitigation measures for the entire activities they e plan to carry out.

• The community to take keen interest in reporting any problems noted or predicted to come from these activities.

• Protective gears like Glass mask , overalls, Gloves to use and other be worn

while at work • Strong by laws be put in place to ensure compiles to the protection of workers at

places of work • All industry/ factories be constructed at their gazetted places but not scattered at it

is now. • Consistence monitoring of mitigation measures be done • All Scraps be old off to metallurgical company in Jinja UGMA

Co-operative There used to be a number of Co-operatives societies, however due to the ongoing insurgency and reduced production of the respective crops, all these have collapsed. However, BAT in promotion of tobacco cultivation in the district, is concentrating in the sub counties of Bobi, Lakwana, Lalogi, Paicho, and Ongako. They deal directly with the farmers and not cooperatives. These farmers still use Flue curing as the method of tobacco curing that is using wood fuel but this method is very destructive to the environment. This calls for immediate mitigation from concerned parties especially BAT to give support to farmers towards Afforestation. The energy and climate change Energy About 99% of the total population in the district use wood fuel /charcoal for cooking and 22% use it for lighting as the main source of energy. The other source of fuel for lighting is paraffin and is used by 75% of the house holds and about 3% use electricity. Local lamps and hurricanes lamps are widely used using kerosene and diesel as the source of power.

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The district is connected to the national power grid from Owen falls dam in Jinja. How ever the most people are too poor to afford this convenient source of power. It is also noted that this power is not even taped for streetlight by the Municipal councils. As a result of the above there is increases demand for wood hence high rate of deforestation. Alternatives The others sources of the fuel - of the fuel in the districts are not yet been fully exploited never the less there is a potential for solar energy and bio gas in the district. A few institutions have solar panels, which are used for various purposes such as operating radios, fridges and lighting. In this case, for domestic use, crop residues and cow dung as alternative sources of fuel though not very common. The reasons for not exploiting these alternative sources include: ♦ High initial cost involved in tapping these energy ♦ Low technological development skills and lack of skilled man

power to train people on hoe to tapped these. ♦ Poor extension services to training community on the uses of

energy saving techniques. This has there for made people to depend highly on wood as the most readily available sources leading to massive destruction of forests. Pollution Over reliance on wood fuel as the most reliable means of energy has resulted to a lot of health problems especially in poor ventilated houses. The major causes of pollution in this case are: ♦ Poor ventilation ♦ Use of poor cooking methods ♦ Inadequate public health extension In regard to the above problems, it is important to make byelaws regarding the improvement of housing facilities and plans. There is also need for fund to enhance training the community on the use of alternative sources of energy and energy saving stoves to reduce the rate of consumption of fuel wood. Climatic changes: The district is characterized by distinct wet and dry spelt. Rainfall is a significant parameter to indicate the trend of climatic changes. Insufficient data was obtained form Meteorological Department due to lack of proper records. The weather station in the district is as well unreliable to gauge rainfall.

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However, even without the data from the Meteorological Department, there has been observed changes in climatic conditions. This included the timing of the rains and the dry spelt. There has been drastic variation in the time the rains could begin to enhance farming. This is all though to be as a result of the following environmental problems:- ♦ Deforestation This is carried out on large scale without any plan of replacement more so with the current insecurity which has forced people in the camps. This has resulted to soil erosion, loss of vegetation cover hence reduced rates of evapor transpiration. ♦ Over cultivation As more land is created for agriculture , a lot more destruction occur resulting to soil exhaustion, soil erosion, siltation of water sources eutrophication of water bodies among others. This in turn interferes with the solar receipts of such water surfaces hence leading to climatic changes. ♦ Wetlands destruction. Wetlands are being destroyed in various ways by several individuals. These include: Drainage for agricultural activities, construction purposed, waste dumping, sand mining among others. This is causing reduced rate of evapo transpiration in such surfaces as well as reduction in the amount of rainfall in this part of the area and hence the immediate areas. ***Scan picture of Construction in a wetland ** ♦ Bush burning Uncontrolled bush burning is massive in the district for the following reasons:

1. For opening agricultural land 2. Hunting 3. Clearance for security purposes 4. Malice by irresponsible persons

Accumulation of smoke and particulate pollutants in the atmosphere has resulted to formation of black rains and drought conditions. To reduce the problems, the required interventions would be

♦ To create bye laws to combat factors which are agents of climatic changes and ensure that they are enforced

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♦ Enforcement of the National Environment Act along with other relevant legal provisions like the Forest and tree planting Act, 2003, wetland policy, 1995, the lands Act 1998 among others.

♦ The need to sensitize the community on the importance of conserving the environment and the long term benefits

The environmental management institution According to the decentralization policy, environmental management is a decentralized function of the districts, the NES, 1995 now the National Environment Act, provides that the districts form the environment committees at all levels of the local councils and to recruit the district environment officer. In line with this the district has a substantive officer and functional District environment committees. The Local Environment committees are formed in some places but even not trained hence is not active. **Scan Picture of District Environment Committees on Inspection of Environmental issues in Kony Paco Wetland** Environmental information The district has a well-established Environment Resource Center in Environment Department where adequate information regarding environment and natural resources can be obtained. Parish and Sub county environment action plans have been formed for all the parishes and sub counties respectively. There are also some data on environment activities form partner NGOs and CBOs, which can be accessed. However there are some factors which have hindered normal information and data collection: -

♦ Insecurity in the region which can not allow access to information and data collection.

♦ Inadequate trained personnel ♦ Poor communication skills by the community ♦ Inadequate knowledge and skills in data collection.

Therefore for any desired improvement, there is need to handle the above constrains/problems immediately Management The district environment office is an institution mandated with a number or responsibility and roles regarding environmental management. Among others is the integration of environmental concerns in the development plans.

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However, these sections through which environmental data is to be collected and stored have a lot of constrains and problems. . There is inadequate logistical support despite the efforts made by the district and NEMA. Collection of information is in most case assisted by the filed extension workers who as well require support. These lack skills for date collection and storage however they normally hand in these information in terms of progressive reports. Basically most people handling information in the district lack the necessary skills and equipment to effectively carry out the exercise. The scanty data is stored in unsafe places where it can easily be removed or destroyed or even lost before reaching the environment resource center. With regard to the above situation, there is need to train all the relevant people (stakeholders) on environmental data collection and storage techniques. Exchange and dissemination. The environment information center has a number of users within various needs. This there fore has aided the dissemination of the information to the other parts of the district. However there are still problems associated wit exchange and dissemination of information. These include: - ♦ Poor networking ♦ Selfish ness ♦ Lack of facilities to aid in information dissemination ♦ The level of education of the community to understand the concept

of environmental management. ♦ Most information is in English and this make it difficult for the

local man to understand fast enough and pass over to the others. ♦ The personnel who pass over the information mostly use English,

which is not common with local man. The possibilities of putting up proper dissemination mechanisms for environmental information should be a priority in the district and translating the information required in the local language which can easy be understood by the community. Reliability and continuity With the existence of the resource center and the other office equipment, there is hope that reliable data base will be formed where data can be accessed whenever required. However more training and support is required to further data collection, analysis, storage and dissemination. This is because of the following reasons: -

♦ inadequate funds dedicated to information management

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♦ Lack of skilled personnel to manage the information ♦ Poor storage facilities ♦ Poor data collection and processing meatheads ♦ Poor staffing position in the Department

The formation of the district environmental profiles (DEP), Sub county Environment Action plans(SEAPs), Parish Environment Action plans(PEAPs), and District state of environmental resorts (DSOER) are some of the move to provide reliable data on the environment. Environmental research Due to the ongoing period of insecurity, there are set back in research activities among other things in the district. The situation deteriorated due to collapsed of collaboration between the research institutions and interested individuals who fear for their lives. Gulu district is still endowed with resources, which require a number of reaches in order to be documented. Gulu district have not benefited much from a number of researches/studies that have been carried out in many institutions regarding the natural resources and Environment. With the recovery of the security situation ion the district efforts will be made to identify areas of great interest in which research can be done. However some work has been done through the formation of the district environmental profiles (DEP), Sub county Environment Action plans(SEAPs), Parish Environment Action plans(PEAPs), and District state of environmental resorts (DSOER). Capacity The district has potential staffs/ people whose capacity can be buils to carry out research. This condition is affected by:-

♦ Lack of funds and logistical for sectore based institutions, ♦ Poorly research culture ♦ Political instability

All in all there is need to build the capacity in terms of personnel, provision of necessary equipment and to improve the scale of environmental research. Policy, Law and regulations. The existing forms policies in the country mandates the district to manage their own environment through a number of activities which aims at improving the environment. With decentralization policy, it is anticipated that environmental problems in the district will be identified and managed effectively.

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The District however has not yet developed its own policy, ordinances and byelaws on environmental management. The management of the environment is still handle directly using the National Policy Guidelines. There is need to build the capacity of the districts to formulate its own policy, ordinances and bylaws. There are a number of legal documents, which are developed in response to addresses environmental management issues. These include:- ♦ The Constitution, 1995 which is the supreme law. ♦ The National Environment Act, 1995 ♦ The Land Act, 1998 ♦ He Local Government Act, 1997 ♦ The National Forestry and Tree planting Act , 2003 ♦ The Uganda Wildlife Act, 1995 ♦ The water Act, 1996 ♦ The Environment Impact Assessment Regulations, 1998 ♦ The National Environment ( Wetlands, River Banks, and Lake

shores) ♦ The National Environment ( Mountains and Hilly areas

management) Regulations, 2000. ♦ The National Environment ( Contral of smoking in Public places )

Regulations , 2004 ♦ The National Environment ( Noise Standards and control)

Regulations , 2003 Environment Planning District Environment Action Plan ( DEAP) In the fulfillment of the obligation mandadted to the district under National Environment Act, 1995, section 19, and as an inspiration to improve the environmental condition of the district, there is plan to formulate the District Environment Action Plan ( DEAP). Sub county and Parish Environment Action Plan ( SEAP/ PEAPs) Sub county Environment Action Plan ( SEAP) was done for all the twenty three sub counties of the district. During this process priority Environmental issues were identified as well as the expected actions by holding consultative meeting with the communities in that areas. SEAPs are integrated the Development plants ( SDP) These are suppose to be implemented alone or as an integration in the course of implemented of other projects .

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However, the Local Environment Committees, which are responsible to ensure that these are implemented, are formed but not action because they are not trained in their role. The Sub county Councils in almost all the sub counties have allocated any funds to wards environmental management. Environmental Education (EE). The district is implementing EE in almost all schools and they are very active. There is therefore hope that this will enhance the improvement of the environmental situation in the district right back to homes. EE coordinators have been identified and trained. For Non Formal Environmental education, there has been a number of environmental radio programs, sensitization programs organized at various levels, workshops and seminars for various stakeholders, debates, and production and dissemination of awareness materials. The future Environmental Issues. Gulu district is well endowed with high potential Natural resources. These include: -fertile soils, forests (Natural and plantations), Wildlife, wetlands, Rangelands, and Rivers. This have however began to be interfered with and are getting degraded/depleted. The major factors leading to these include increase population, unsustainable utilization of these resources, poverty, insecurity, congestion in the camps, low levels of environmental awareness, and poor technology in use. The above factors have resulted to a number of environmental issues and require that they should be addressed immediately.

♦ Deforestation ♦ Poor hygiene and sanitation ♦ Poor waste management ♦ Wetland degradations ♦ Pollution of noise, water, soils and Air ♦ Poor land management especially around the camps ♦ Soil erosion ♦ Inadequate safe drinking water sources

** Scan picture of persons in search of water **

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The following actions are suggested among others: ♦ Increased awareness creation on the linkages

between population , poverty and environment ♦ Promotion of the use off energy saving stoves ♦ Formulation of the district Policy on environmental

management, ordinances and bye laws ♦ Proper physical planning ♦ Integration of environmental concerns in all the

development plans and implementation of all mitigation measures identified for projects and so on.

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References ♦ Brusberg, F. 1994. Design and implementation of the

District Based Environmental management systems. NEAP/USAID Report unpublished

♦ Government of Uganda, 1993. The Local Government (Council) Statute. Statute Supplement N0. 8,UPPC, Entebbe.

♦ Ministry of Local Government, December 2003. Participants Hand book on Environment Management for Higher and Lower Local Government

♦ NEMA (National Environment Management Authority) and FES( Freidrich Ebert Stiftung), 1998. Caring for Our Environment.

♦ NEMA (National Environment Management Authority) 1995. National Environment Statute.

♦ NEMA (National Environment Management Authority) 1995. State for Environment Report for Uganda

♦ NEMA (National Environment Management Authority) 1996. State for Environment Report for Uganda

♦ NEMA (National Environment Management Authority) 1998. State for Environment Report for Uganda

♦ NEMA (National Environment Management Authority) 2000/2001. State for Environment Report for Uganda

♦ NEMA (National Environment Management Authority) 2003. Guidelines for Preparation of District State Of Environment Report , Uganda.

♦ Uganda Bureau of statistics, 2002. The Population and housing Census results.