Promoting Corporate and Community Involvement in Natural Resource Management Through Dissemination of Research Findings and Participation in Field Investigations of Mine Pollution in Kasese, Western Uganda

In a field attachment to Kasese Cobalt Company Limited (KCCL), the communities of Kahendero and Hamukungu landing sites on Lake George shores were engaged in investigations of the impact of pollution and subsequent interventions by KCCL, a corporate body, on the health of Lake George ecosystem, part of Queen Elizabeth Conservation Area (QECA). This was done as a contribution to creating community environmental awareness, lack of which is an impediment to natural resources management. It involved studying changes in concentrations of copper metal in fish (Oreochromis spp.) tissue and lake sediment around the landing sites by engaging them in monthly sampling for three months. The investigation was not aimed at making a scientific case as the samples were statistically inadequate but was a strategy to disseminate findings of M.Sc. research which investigated the potential use of effluent from the KCCL constructed wetland for revegetating a bare pyrite trail in QECA, a catchment of Lake George. It aimed at raising environmental awareness, promoting natural resources management and conservation in the communities, and enhancing community and corporate engagement in prevention of the potential adverse impacts of industry on the environment and communities livelihoods. The attachment had a great impact on creating the importance of research and environment management among the communities through interactions, sharing of knowledge and experiences.