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Vol.3 , No. 2, Publication Date: May 13, 2016, Page: 42-51
 software. Results show that cattle is the most common livestock type reared in the area, while other forms of livestock include goats, poultry and others. These are reared for various reasons such as food and income, but like all forms of food production, affect the environment in one way or another. Pastoralism, a common land use practice in Western Uganda, has negative environmental consequences, including damage to vegetation, reduction in water quality, etc. This calls for a more harmonious livestock-environment interaction and to achieve this, a number of measures have been suggested in this study, including enforcement of rules and regulations, sensitization of farmers on proper livestock rearing, tree planting and others, in a bid to ensure nature conservation.&picture=http://www.aascit.org/aascit/decorators/img/journal/904.jpg)
| [1] | Twaha Ali Basamba, Department of Agricultural Production, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. |
| [2] | Doreen Tukezibwa, Department of Environmental Management, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. |
| [3] | Ann Tumushabe, Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Kampala International University, Kampala, Uganda. |
| [4] | Kassim Ssekabira, Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Kampala International University, Kampala, Uganda. |
Animals and the environment have had a close interaction dating back to pre-historical times. In as far as agricultural production is concerned, pastoral activities are the most important activities carried out in almost all regions in Uganda, due to the growing pressure to satisfy food demands, especially in form of meat, milk and eggs. However, in Western Uganda, this pressure has culminated into environmental degradation. The study focused on the environmental impacts of pastoral activities on nature conservation, while highlighting four major issues of concern. These issues include common livestock types and how they are reared, socio-economic and environmental benefits of livestock rearing, adverse environmental effects and how farmers are trying to mitigate the effects. While establishing the issues of concern, the study based on observation data collection together with use of questionnaires. Data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) software. Results show that cattle is the most common livestock type reared in the area, while other forms of livestock include goats, poultry and others. These are reared for various reasons such as food and income, but like all forms of food production, affect the environment in one way or another. Pastoralism, a common land use practice in Western Uganda, has negative environmental consequences, including damage to vegetation, reduction in water quality, etc. This calls for a more harmonious livestock-environment interaction and to achieve this, a number of measures have been suggested in this study, including enforcement of rules and regulations, sensitization of farmers on proper livestock rearing, tree planting and others, in a bid to ensure nature conservation.
Keywords
Pastoralism, Land Degradation, Environmental Impacts, Livelihoods, Soil Fertility, Western Uganda
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