Adaptive and Inclusive Watershed Management: Assessing policy and institutional support in Uganda

This research paper evaluates the integration of gender and climate change considerations into Uganda's water and watershed management. While Uganda has successfully implemented gender-responsive budgeting and representation quotas in water user committees, gender mainstreaming in climate change policies remains minimal. The report highlights that women are the primary users of water but are often excluded from formal decision-making and have limited access to climate information. It concludes that while policy frameworks are strong, implementation is hindered by customary laws and a lack of practical understanding at the local level.

• Climate change is causing significant degradation of Uganda's water systems, characterized by changing rainfall patterns, increased extreme weather events such as floods, landslides, and droughts, and deteriorating water quality and quantity.
• Women in Uganda face systemic exclusion from water-related decision-making and lack essential resources for climate adaptation, including access to land, credit, and climate information. This is exacerbated by low education levels and cultural stereotypes, leaving women and girls most vulnerable to the impacts of catchment degradation.
• Uganda has made significant progress in mainstreaming gender into the water sector through mandatory gender-responsive budgeting and representation quotas. The National Water Policy (1999) requires that women hold 50 per cent of positions on all water user committees (WUCs) and at least one key position.
• In contrast to the water sector, gender mainstreaming within climate change initiatives is described as virtually non-existent in critical areas, including funding for women's adaptation, representation in climate institutions, and the collection of gender-disaggregated data.
• There is a documented disparity in how men and women access climate and agricultural information in Uganda. For example, while 98% of men access radio and 67% use agricultural extension services, only 86% of women use radio and 31% use extension services.
• The Government of Uganda has integrated climate change into sectoral budgeting; for the 2017/2018 fiscal year, the Ministry of Water and Environment proposed an allocation of UGX 3.246 billion (approximately USD 876,420) for Weather, Climate and Climate Change.
• Research indicates that women's leadership in water management leads to better outcomes. In a study of the Water and Sanitation Sub Sector, 81.2 per cent of water facilities were functioning normally or fully when a woman chaired the WUC, compared to 54.1 per cent when a man chaired.
• Despite policy progress, a gap exists between national-level regulations and local implementation. Challenges include a lack of practical understanding of mainstreaming at the local level, weak linkages between national institutions and local government stakeholders, and the continued dominance of customary laws over formal policies.

APA

Puzyreva, M., & Roy, D. (2018). Adaptive and Inclusive Watershed Management: Assessing policy and institutional support in Uganda. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/adaptive-inclusive-watershed-management-uganda.pdf

Chicago

Puzyreva, Marina, and Dimple Roy. Adaptive and Inclusive Watershed Management: Assessing policy and institutional support in Uganda. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2018. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/adaptive-inclusive-watershed-management-uganda.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Puzyreva |first1=Marina |last2=Roy |first2=Dimple |title=Adaptive and Inclusive Watershed Management: Assessing policy and institutional support in Uganda |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=July 2018 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/adaptive-inclusive-watershed-management-uganda.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{puzyreva2018adaptive, author = {Puzyreva, Marina and Roy, Dimple}, title = {{Adaptive and Inclusive Watershed Management: Assessing policy and institutional support in Uganda}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2018}, month = jul, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/adaptive-inclusive-watershed-management-uganda.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }