Integrating Environmental Issues into Northern Uganda’s Recovery Programmes INTRODUCTION IN ENRM

DISCLAIMER These slides are part of a training package that includes a Trainers Manual, User Guidelines and a CD-ROM with references and presentations The production of this package was commissioned in 2014 by the Office of the Prime Minister, as part of the Northern Uganda Agriculture Livelihoods Recovery Programme (ALREP) The training package was produced by consultants of the Makerere University College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences The contents of the package do not necessary reflect the views and opinions of the Government of Uganda and the European Union

SESSION OBJECTIVES Raise awareness and strengthen your knowledge on the importance of the environment and natural resources Be able to understand the different components of environment explain each resource’s importance Relate natural resources with people’s well being and economic growth of their area and the country at large

DEFINITIONS Environment physical factors of the surroundings of human beings including land, water, atmosphere, climate, sound, odour, the biological factors of animals and plants and the social factor of aesthetics and includes both the natural and the built environment

Natural Resources Natural resources are biotic and abiotic natural assets within the environment that are valuable to human kind Natural resources can be used in their natural form, i.e. fresh water, air, firewood, or they have to be processed to make them useful: metal ores, oil, timber Renewable resources are replenished naturally. The quantity of some renewable resources, i.e. air and sunlight, are not affected by human consumption (although the quality may); others (i.e. biomass) can be exhausted when off take surpasses growth Non-renewable resources do not form (i.e. minerals), or only very slowly (i.e. petroleum) in the environment. Their harvesting or use is per definition exhaustive

Group work List the prevalent natural resources in your district Which are renewable and which are not renewable

Importance of Natural Resources Land resource Complex system comprising topography, soils, minerals, water and biota Land is an important resource for growing crops and grazing of animals For settlements Supports forest products Industrial developments Provides raw materials

Importance of Natural Resources Wetland resources Vegetated area that is flooded either permanently or seasonally Provide fruitful habitat for valued aquatic organisms (fish, plants and other animals for game) Provide water for human consumption and commercial use Provide fuel wood

Importance of Natural Resources Forest resources A natural forest is an aggregation of naturally occurring indigenous tree species that is self-renewing and continuously changing (dynamic) covering a piece of land Forest values Provision of timber and other tree products Source of food (fruits, vegetables, game) Biodiversity habitat Water catchment Climate moderation Carbon sink

Importance of Natural Resources Wildlife resources Undomesticated plants and animals in their natural setting such as wild trees and grasses, wild animals Wildlife values Aesthetic Cultural Tourism – income and employment Products: meat, fish, tree and plant products Water storage and cleansing

Group work Discuss the key characteristics of sustainable use of natural resources Discuss the tensions between sustainable resource use and development

Sustainable use of Natural Resources the speed of consumption is not surpassing the regeneration of the resource or compromising its valuable functions Is this always possible? Issues with sustainable resource use Benefits of resource exploitation are private, while the costs are external (i.e. to society as whole) Benefits are direct, while costs are long-term The intrinsic values of NR are not known or understood, and often undervalued (i.e. cleaning functions of natural wetlands) The cause–effect relationship between use and (negative) impact are not always clear (i.e. climate change)