Author(s): Richard Kifuko

Abstract: Sustainable natural resources management including fisheries remains contentious owing to the multiple actors’ divergent views. Centralized management has been resisted by resource end-users culminating into management failures as exhibited in fisheries over-exploitation. Co-management introduced in 2003 in Uganda as sustainable option to adaptively manage the fisheries. However, dwindling fish catches due to especially overcapacity on water bodies still persists. The current government-supported management option is ‘privatisation’ of user-rights of some lake portions to individual(s) for cage aquaculture to maximize revenue and fish supply. However, this has led to resistances from majority fishers dependent on the lakes for livelihoods. Policy formulation mainly by the state and its partners -the donors, excluding local fisheries, is the major reason for the impasse to sustainable management. It suggests inclusiveness participation of all stakeholders in all policy stages to create a good pack of reliable knowledge to attain sustainable fisheries management to ease the contestation.

Pages: 655-658  |  1500 Views  184 Downloads

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