Abstract:

Fisheries contribute 2.5% to national and 12.5% to agricultural GDP, employ about 1.2 million people, generate over US$ 150 million in export earnings and provide about 50% of protein food to Ugandans. The fisheries resources are vulnerable to over-exploitation, pollution, invasive species, habitat degradation, and climate variability and change. Consequently, the diversity and quantity of fishes has changed which threatens livelihoods of communities who depend upon fisheries resources. However, management of fisheries has concentrated on addressing the other threats and less on climate variability and change. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has reported that global temperatures have increased by about 1oC since the last two decades of the 20th century and an increase of more than 2oC would have negative consequences on natural resources such as fisheries and consequently on livelihoods.