Integrated Water Resources Management in Uganda: Past, Present, and a Vision for the Future

This paper presents the evolution of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in Uganda. It presents practical experiences of the opportunities and constraints to the implementation of IWRM. The institutional management of water is presented including a review of relevant policies, the legislative framework, and the national structure for the management of water resources. While Uganda is well endowed with significant freshwater resources, the challenges of rapid population growth, increased urbanization and industrialization, uncontrolled environmental degradation and pollution are leading to accelerated depletion and degradation of the available water resources. To meet the above challenges, the government of Uganda (GOU) instituted reforms in the water sector to ensure that water services are provided and managed with increased efficiency and cost effectiveness. These reforms and the changes towards IWRM are discussed in the paper. Limitations and opportunities are identified. The paper presents a vision for the future towards truly Integrated Water Resources Management. This includes the Sector Wide Approach to Planning; the vision for management at catchment or basin scale; cross-sectoral undertakings to develop trust, increased information dissemination; and the adoption of management tools and modeling techniques in IWRM.