Mitigating the Relationship between Population Growth and Land Degradation: Land-use Change and Farm Management in Southwestern Uganda

We investigated changes in land use between 1945 and 1996, as well as current farm-management practices, to identify factors which may be intervening to prevent or delay the negative impact of population growth on the environment in Kabale District, Uganda. Transects conducted in 1945 provided the baseline against which we measured changes in land use; we also interviewed farmers concerning their management of individual fields. We found that a higher proportion of land was being left to fallow in 1996 than in 1945. Grazing land has been relocated from marginal land on steep back slopes to valley pastures reclaimed from wetlands. In 1996, the land allocated for woodlots was more than double that in 1945. Farmers are using fallow, animal manure, household compost and mulching to improve soil fertility. Changes in land use and current farm management techniques may have contributed to the apparent lack of severe land degradation in the area.