Abstract
The paper assessed the effects of changing the land use from transhumant pastoralism to crop farming on Lake Nakivale Wetland system. Semi-structured questionnaire was administered directly to 315 respondents from randomly selected households in three parishes bordering Lake Nakivale Wetland. In order to trace trends in land use practices overtime and understand the associated environmental problems, analysis of satellite images was carried out, structured interviews and focussed group discussions held. Five transect walks of 6 km perpendicular to the wetland were carried out to confirm information generated from the analysis of satellite images and discussions. The results indicate that over the last two decades, land use practices around Lake Nakivale Wetland have changed at an alarming rate from semi-nomadic and transhumant pastoralists’ way of rearing cattle to sedentary subsistence crop farming, leading to unprecedented human induced environmental problems such as land degradation, loss of wildlife habitat, wetland encroachment, destruction of important historical and cultural sites as well as siltation of Lake Nakivale. Integrated land use planning and management should guide the restoration program, if the wetland and the surrounding landscape are to regain their integrity.
Key words: Land use practices, landscape, land tenure, land degradation, pastoralism, wetland system
