Endorsement of Sio-Siteko Transboundary Wetlands Management Plan

The Nile Transboundary Environmental Action Project (NTEAP), one of the projects under the Nile Basin Initiative’s (NBI) Shared Vision Program, was mandated to provide a strategic environmental framework for the management of the transboundary waters and environmental challenges in the Nile River Basin. One of the ways NTEAP met this objective was to prepare Transboundary Management Plans, in which stakeholders from more than one country are brought together to plan for the management of a shared resource.

The Sio Siteko Transboundary wetlands management plan has been prepared with the contribution of stakeholders from Uganda and Kenya, including Regional and District leaderships together with the communities. The plan brings out the main local and cross border ecological, cultural and socioeconomic issues that require attention by the various stakeholders. Actions prioritised in the management plan can easily be integrated into the districts, national and regional planning frameworks. Given the transboundary nature of this plan, the Nile Basin Initiative and other regional bodies like the Lake Victoria Basin Commission can facilitate coordination processes. However, the implementation has been designed to be carried out by the districts and the communities who directly benefit from the resources.

In addition to being used as a planning tool, the plan provides useful information on the wetlands hydrology, ecosystems and biodiversity together with their socio economic and cultural importance. The process that has been used to develop the plan is included as a guide to future development of similar plans at other sites. Successful implementation of interventions suggested in this plan shall improve people’s livelihoods especially those who directly depend on the natural resources of the wetlands.

This plan is not only useful for management but can also be used for education, awareness and training purposes for managers, communities, educators, NGOs, regional agencies and all stakeholders wishing to sustainably conserve and manage wetlands.

Above excerpt from Sio-Siteko Management Plan.pdf