Conserving biodiversity in the modernising
farmed landscapes of Uganda

In Uganda, one of the main pillars in the policy of eradicating poverty is major reform of the agricultural sector through the PMA (Plan for the Modernisation of Agriculture). Traditionally the wider countryside has been particularly under valued for its biodiversity. Funding has tended to focus on biodiversity hot spots and protected areas. This project will address this gap in biodiversity conservation and research by gathering information on patterns and trends in biodiversity (e.g. birds, bees or other pollinators, butterflies, bats, trees and other woody vegetation etc) in relation to agricultural land use in a range of smallholder and large-scale farming systems in the western and central regions of Uganda.

The project will target one of the major farming systems (the banana / coffee arc around Lake Victoria), and investigate how aspects of biodiversity (such as birds, bats, bees, plants etc) vary across an intensity gradient, ranging from smallholder mixed-cropping systems to large agricultural systems characterised by mono-cropping and high use of fertilisers and pesticides. Additional to the research will be (i) capacity building of partners in Uganda, (ii) identification of indicators and collection of baseline data to enlarge the scope for future monitoring of biodiversity (particularly birds and insects, e.g. bees as pollinators) in agricultural systems in Uganda, (iii) identification of best practice regarding sustainable land use options in Uganda, (iv) dissemination of best practice to agricultural development agencies and service providers and selected local communities within Uganda, (v) policy advice to the Ugandan Government. We expect the results to be applicable to similar agricultural systems elsewhere in eastern Africa and that the approach adopted could serve as a framework for addressing similar issues even further afield.

The biodiversity research will be carried out by two PhD students based at Makerere University, supported by two research assistants. They will be part of a larger framework of research and policy development involving Nature Uganda (the Ugandan BirdLife International partner), the Ugandan Wildlife Society, the Danish Institute for International Studies and Bournemouth University, the Plan for the Modernisation of Agriculture (PMA) and the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS). NatureUganda are leading on the implementation of the project and are collecting socio-economic information to the biodiversity measures collected by the students.

The students primary role is to conduct the research needed to (a) determine the impacts of how changes in farming might impact biodiversity and (b) provide the data and scientific backup to assist the staff members at NU and UWS in devising new management techniques for best practice to maintain biodiversity on farmland in Uganda.

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