Resource information
Wetlands are important areas for social, cultural and economic
benefits for local communities living in and around them. The Nile Basin
region is endowed with rich and diverse wetlands supporting the
livelihoods of millions of people covering 3% of the total Nile Basin area.
Unfortunately, national and regional scale policies aimed at wetlands
management in the Nile Basin region have not been inclusive of
structures/frameworks or approaches that would contribute to
evaluation of wetland ecosystem services to guide wise use of the
wetland resources.
In several cases, the implementation of these policies have focused on
the direct benefits that can be realised from wetland ecosystems (an
anthropocentric approach), thereby undervaluing the benefits of the
wetlands.
It is within this context that this policy brief explores the policy gaps,
with the aim of providing policy recommendations based on empirical
information. The overall recommendation therefore being the need to
consider economic valuation of wetlands for the total value based on
costs of alternatives.