AbstractsBusiness Management & Administration

Wetlands constitute one of the most important ecological and socio-economic resources that Uganda is endowed with, contributing both directly and indirectly to the country s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) each year. However, insufficient levels of awareness and appreciation of their existence, let alone the important functions that wetlands perform in their natural state, is one of the leading causes of their rapid destruction in Uganda (NEMA, 2006). The latest issue of the State of the Environment Report for Uganda (2006/7) leaves no illusions as to the severity of the wetland problem in Uganda, saying it had reached critical and alarming levels in most parts of the country. Since its inception in 1995, National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) the principal agency charged with the overall supervision, monitoring, coordination and management of all environmental resources in Uganda has undertaken a number of measures to try and contain the problems afflicting the country s wetlands. While some measures have been at the policy level, others have been legal, regulatory or communication-related. This study was specifically interested in the communication-related measures, evaluating the efficacy (potency) of NEMA s communication campaigns targeted at wetland resource users in Kampala district. NEMA s communication campaigns aim at sensitising the local people on the important functions that wetlands perform; the different laws that govern wetland use in Uganda; the different human activities that are destroying these wetlands; how to sustainably use them; motivating behaviour change, etc. Their overall objective is to raise awareness on the importance of these wetlands and the need to use them sustainably. The study relies on literature from communication campaign design, Everett Rogers Diffusion of Innovations theory (1962) and Prochaska et al s Stages of Change theory (1992) as guides in evaluating NEMA s communication methods, techniques and approaches (communication strategy). Using mainly in-depth qualitative interviews with communication campaign designers at NEMA; focus group discussions and survey questionnaires with the intended message recipients; as well as document analysis, the study reveals that NEMA has largely succeeded in raising awareness among the communities that make use of these wetlands in Kampala. However, a number of weaknesses in its communication strategy are also revealed by the study. For example, NEMA s top-down approach in the conception, design and implementation of its campaigns has resulted in poorly-designed and targeted messages; the use of inappropriate languages, ineffective media channels, etc. The study also attributes some of these shortcomings to NEMA s reluctance to undertake genuine formative and pre-campaign research. The study then offers suggestions on how NEMA can improve its future campaign in Chapter Seven and suggests areas for further research.