Linking National Fisheries Policy to Livelihoods on the Shores of Lake Kyoga, Uganda
Abstract
This paper aims to use a livelihoods study carried out in 2001-2002 to inform the on-going process of policy reform and management implementation in Uganda’s fisheries. Using a livelihoods framework for fisheries research has led to a better understanding of the role that fishing plays in the rural economy, which in turn is helping to ensure that fisheries-sector policies are grounded in a good understanding of inter-sectoral linkages.
This paper proceeds first by reviewing the role played by fisheries in the Ugandan economy and by outlining recent policy directions in the sector. Sectoral policies are then placed in the context of broader fisheries management theory, to provide a theoretical framework against which to test the assumptions upon which policy is based. This review is used to develop a number of research questions relevant to policy formulation. These are then evaluated with reference to the results of a study of fishing livelihoods carried out in three villages in Kamuli District, on the shores of Lake Kyoga. The paper ends with an overview of the implications of the research findings for Uganda’s evolving fisheries policy and the contribution of fisheries to broader questions of poverty eradication strategies in Uganda’s lakeshore regions.
Citation
Allison, E.H. Linking National Fisheries Policy to Livelihoods on the Shores of Lake Kyoga, Uganda. (2003) 47 pp. [LADDER Working Paper No. 9]
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