Status of the beach management units development in Uganda

Fisheries plays a significant and important part in the economy of the country contributing to foreign exchange, food security and employment creation. Lake Victoria contributes over 50% of the total annual fish catch. The purpose of fisheries management is to ensure conservation, protection, proper use, economic efficiency and equitable distribution of the fisheries resources both for the present and future generations through sustainable utilization. The earliest fisheries were mainly at the subsistence level. Fishing gear consisted of locally made basket traps, hooks and seine nets of papyrus. Fishing effort begun to increase with the introduction of more efficient flax gillnets in 1905. Fisheries management in Uganda started in 1914. Before then, the fishery was under some form of traditional management based on the do and don'ts. History shows that the Baganda had strong spiritual beliefs in respect of "god Mukasa" (god of the Lake) and these indirectly contributed to sustainable management of the lake. If a fisherman neglected to comply witt'l any of the ceremonies related to fishing he was expected to encounter a bad omen (Rev. Roscoe, 1965) However, with the introduction of the nylon gill nets, which could catch more fish, traditional management regime broke down. By 1955 the indigenous fish species like Oreochromis variabilis and Oreochromis esculentus had greatly declined in catches. Decline in catches led to introduction of poor fishing methods because of competition for fish. Government in an attempt to regulate the fishing irldustry enacted the first Fisheries Ordinance in 1951 and recruited Fisheries Officers to enforce them. The government put in place minimum net mesh-sizes and Fisheries Officers arrested fishermen without explaining the reason. This led to continued poor fishing practices. The development of government centred management systems led to increased alienation of resource users and to wilful disregard of specific regulations. The realisation of the problems faced by the central management system led to the recognition that user groups need to be actively involved in fisheries management if the systems are to be consistent with sustainable fisheries and be legitimate. Community participation in fisheries management under the Comanagement approach has been adopted in Lake Victoria including other water bodies.

Effect of sea water level rise on sandy beach profile

Study of batch profile evolution and scouring effect due to the wave and current impacts in the coastal zone has been one of the most important issues in coastal engineering research projects during the past decades .to construct the coastal protective structures such piers, breakwaters and seawalls, it is necessary to estimate the scouring depth and bed level changes in the vicinity of such structures. Furthermore, the time - dependent changes in the equilibrium profile of the surf zone can be of great importance in designing coastal structures. Because of the importance of coastal engineering study in Iran due to the existence of two important coastal area located in the north and south parts of the country, and due to the lack of classified data in this respect (particularly the effect of sea level rise on coastal morphology) in the present study, based on the available data of Bandar Anzali region, an analysis of the coastal zone behavior is made. Bed level elevations are measured and compared with the theoretical equilibrium profile. It is shown that the behavior of the coastal zone in the region is consistent with the dean (equilibrium profile . In the next stage, following extensive investigations, the bed level changes due to a rise in sea level at different locations in the surf zone are estimated. Finally based on the results obtained for profile evolution due to sea level rise, the conclusion is made for design of coastal structures located in the study area. The results obtained from the present study indicate that the sea level rise can have a significant effect on beach profile and resulting erosion in the study area. The results are graphically presented with can be used for design purposes and establishing a data base for the coastal zone in the study region. It is believed that the present work can be regarded as a contribution to the existing knowledge of coast process in the study area and referred to as a basis for the future coastal research projects.