The failure to report on an annual basis has in a sense
had an impact on the credibility and ownership of the
Box 4. Dimensions of poverty
SOERs by sectoral agencies. In many instances the lead
agencies lack ownership of the chapter or section of the
The Uganda Participatory Poverty Assessment Process (UP-
SOER that addresses their mandate; claiming that they
PAP) studies show that poverty exhibits multi-dimensional
and integrated characteristics – it is not just about the lack
were not involved in the production process. To address
of income. It is the inability to satisfy a range of basic human
this issue, NEMA is currently working with the lead agen-
needs, and stems from powerlessness, social exclusion, ig-
cies to produce the required sector reports. These reports
norance and lack of knowledge, as well as shortage of mate-
will then be used as an input to the 2008 SOER which is
rial resources.
currently under preparation. It is thought that working Powerlessness is seen in terms of lack of participation,
together with the lead agencies to produce these sector voicelessness, unmet aspirations, gender discrimination
reports will establish clearer linkages between the sector
and poor governance.
reports and the national SOER, and thus act as a stimulus
Ignorance and lack of knowledge is described as the state
for future annual reporting. Furthermore, it is hoped that
of being illiterate and ignorant about oneself and sur-
this will also lead to the full integration of the EIS into the
roundings.
functioning of the lead agencies.
Social exclusion is about being excluded from accessing
certain services or benefits or not being heard in commu-
nity meetings.
Districts are also required to produce district SOE reports
These different dimensions of poverty reinforce each other.
(DSOERs). Between 1997 and 1998, thirty nine districts
That is why it is essential for the country to ensure an in-
produced DSOERs with support from NEMA. Again in
tegrated approach to development activities. The UPPAP
2004, 56 districts were trained and assisted to produce studies emphasize that information is particularly important
DSOERs. To further streamline the process, guidelines so that socially-excluded people can grasp the opportunities
for the production of these reports were developed and
that exist.
distributed to the districts to enable better budgeting and
Source: MFPED 2002
continuity of the process. Maps, satellite imagery and
other data produced by the institutions in the horizontal
EIN serve as a big source of information in the produc- Against that background, the Ministry of Water and Envi-
tion of the DSOERs. ronment has just launched a 10-year investment plan for
the environment and natural resource sector. This sec-
The Environment Act stipulates that DSOER production tor investment plan is to be integrated into the National
should be an annual event. But maintaining this frequen- Development Planning (NDP) process that was launched
cy is a challenge, especially in terms of the human and in November 2007. Most elements of the current EIN
financial resources required for its production. Indeed programme including the development of environment
without external support it is unlikely that this legal re- information systems have been included in the sector in-
quirement will be complied with. Mbale will soon be the vestment plan and will thus be mainstreamed into most
only district with three editions of the DSOER. The third sectoral activities. As far as the environment sector is
edition (2008) is currently being compiled with support concerned, this will contribute to addressing some of the
from the Mt Elgon Regional Ecosystem Conservation Pro- dimensions of poverty.
gramme, a trans-boundary project being implemented
under the East African Community (Nakayenze 2008). Further, the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Econom-
ic Development has indicated that mainstreaming and
Contributing to national development budgeting for environment activities will be a pre-condi-
processes tion for sector funding at national and local levels. Guide-
Information from the SOE reporting processes in Ugan- lines for the mainstreaming process are being developed
da is linked to achievement of key national development and management of environment information and use
goals such as the PEAP, which is Uganda’s poverty reduc- will be one of those key activities. If efforts for poverty
tion strategy paper. eradication are to be effective, addressing components
of poverty such as information access are of particular
Following elaborate poverty assessment studies in the importance because as the analysis shows (figure 4) by
late 1990s and early 2000, Uganda now has a much wid- 2002, about 42.7 per cent of the rural and 14.4 per cent
er operational definition of poverty that includes the lack of the urban population in Uganda could be categorised
of access to information, the voiceless, as well as social as poor (UBOS and ILRI 2007).
exclusion (MFPED 2002). Information to the public is
therefore considered a critical empowering factor in ef- The information content of the SOEs has been critical
forts to eradicate poverty and improve management and in making the document a prerequisite for sustainable
governance of the environment. The different dimen- development. The principle of sustainability requires that
sions of poverty are described in detail in Box 4. explicit recognition must be given to existing interrela-
14 Best Practices in Environmental Information Management in Africa
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