A team of researchers from Kabale University has raised concern over the increasing degradation of wetlands in southwestern Uganda, warning that the trend is threatening endemic bird, reptile and amphibian species.
The researchers made the revelation on Tuesday during a stakeholders’ meeting to disseminate findings from the Site Selection to Protect Papyrus Endemic Biodiversity in Uganda (SEBU) project.
The three-year project, launched in April 2023 with funding from JRS Biodiversity, a US-based independent grant-making organisation, focused on collecting and analysing geographical data on high-altitude species at risk of extinction.
The study specifically examined papyrus-endemic birds, reptiles and amphibians found at altitudes above 1,300 metres.
Dr Julius Arinaitwe, the chief of the Directorate of Research and Grants at Kabale University, said southwestern Uganda was selected because of its unique biodiversity, particularly in the mountainous areas.
He said the region has about 300 small wetland patches, but the study focused on five relatively intact wetlands considered important for biodiversity conservation.
The wetlands include Nyamuriro in Rubanda District, Lake Bunyonyi in Kabale District, Rushebeya-Kanyabaha in Rukiga District, and Bukiro Rwampara and Nyaruteme in Ntungamo District.
According to the researchers, the five wetlands provide habitat for up to 4,000 birds belonging to six species.
However, the study found that the wetlands are increasingly being degraded by human activities, including bush burning, mining and cultivation.
The researchers warned that continued degradation could destroy habitats for species that depend on the wetlands for survival.
The Papyrus Yellow Wobbler was identified as the most endangered bird species among those studied.
Nyaruteme and Rushebeya wetlands were found to be the most degraded, prompting researchers to call for their designation as protected biodiversity areas.
Dr Arinaitwe said such designation would help ensure that development activities around the wetlands do not undermine the survival of endemic species.
“When a wetland is designated as a biodiversity area, it means that any development project in the vicinity will require measures to prevent disruption of the region’s endemic biodiversity,” he said.
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Nakafeero, a principal environment officer and senior district support officer at the National Environment Management Authority (Nema), said Uganda had made progress in wetland restoration.
She said the country restored 3.35 million hectares of protected wetlands between 2021 and 2025, with the restoration rate increasing from 8.9 per cent in 2019 to about 13.9 per cent in 2025.
She said the rate was above the African average of about three per cent.
However, Nakafeero said preventing degradation should remain a priority because restoring damaged wetlands is expensive.
Uganda, she said, aims to recover at least 30 per cent of degraded wetlands by 2030.
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Lucy Lyango, the commissioner for wetlands at the Ministry of Water and Environment, said development pressure remains the biggest threat to wetlands in the country.
Lyango said wetland coverage stood at about 15 per cent when she joined government in the 1990s but has since declined to nine per cent.
She said the government aims to increase wetland coverage to at least 12 per cent by 2040 and called for collective efforts to achieve the target.
Lyango also commended Kabale University for conducting and disseminating the research, saying academic institutions play an important role in generating evidence that can inform government policy.
“We recently realised that academic institutions are very important sources of researched data that can inform policymaking, but it only helps when disseminated,” she said.
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Uganda is a signatory to several international and regional agreements aimed at promoting the protection, management and sustainable use of wetlands, including the 1971 Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Bonn Convention on Migratory Species and the Nile Basin Initiative.
