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Use of Sustainable Livelihoods Approaches
The project worked in partnership with central and local government
and fisheries communities in Uganda, to support the development
and implementation of a new, livelihoods-focused Integrated Lake
Management approach. The outputs of this partnership were poverty
focused, giving both direct support to capital assets of those reliant
on lake resources, and support for more effective functioning of
structures and processes to improve resource management and promote
poverty reduction. Empowerment of fishing communities to have a
role in managing their resources was a key element of the project
and has been integrated within government policies and legislation.
The
ILM approach is a people-centred approach and is concerned with
improving all the capital assets of households, not only access
to natural capital. Poverty was addressed in a number of ways, including
the provision of legislation requiring the inclusion of women and
boat crew, traditionally the more marginalised stakeholders in fisheries
communities, in decision making activities through their membership
and role within community-based fisheries organisations known as
Beach Management Units. New participatory fisheries licensing procedures
have improved the access to fisheries resources for women and boat
crew, through the participatory process and through set targets
for these stakeholder groups. Lake Management Organisations bring
the Beach Management Units (BMUs) together with local government
across a lake, with a focus on improving livelihoods, as well as
natural resource management. The creation of an enabling policy
and legal environment was essential for the changes to be sustainable
in the long term and provide legal mandate for the new structures.
The
approach was implemented in an integrated way, through activities
and processes at the micro, meso and macro levels to support lake
dependent livelihoods. Institutions were built and strengthened
at the micro (Beach Management Units) and meso or lake level (Lake
Management Organisations), and the lessons learnt at these levels
informed national level policy and legislation. The ILM project
strongly supported the Department of Fisheries Resources to advocate
for support to the fisheries sector through the revision of the
Poverty Eradication Action Plan.
Direct
support to building capital assets is illustrated below:
Natural
capital |
Improved
fisheries and environmental management
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Physical
capital |
Improved
fish landing site infrastructure (through local government planning
and financing), including roads and market structures |
| Social
capital |
Increased
ownership and role in decision making for resource management.
Empowerment and representation for community stakeholders to
demand improved services. |
Financial
capital |
Improved
income through improved productivity, better access to lake
resources, and improved facilities and access to markets. Financial
sustainability of new institutional structures promoted –
through local government and community commitments. |
| Human
capital |
Increased
capacity of communities (e.g. in management), local government
(e.g. in planning) and national government (e.g. in advocating
for support to the fisheries sector). |
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