Abstract
The influence of social institutions in the management of control of access to watershed resources in a changing climate has not been fully explored. This study examined the influence of social factor variables on the management of control of access to Awoja watershed. The study was conducted in Awoja watershed in Eastern Uganda facing frequent floods and draughts. The study used a cross sectional research design involving factor analysis and logistical regression to determine the influence of social contextual factors on watershed management. Qualitative methods were also used to explain statistical trends. From the household survey data correlation results indicated that, there was a significant relationship between the social issues and management of the watershed (r = 0.353, P −0.489, P −0.249, P < 0.01). From the Logistical Regression two factors “institutions” and “rationale for access” had an increasing influence on watershed management while the other factors had a decreasing influence on watershed management. However, while the influence of institutions was increasing and significant, the influence of rationale for access to protected areas was increasing but not significant. Factors with negative influences included culture, social cohesion and social conflicts which had significant negative influence. The study also found that climate change had negative consequences on existing social institutions due to its ability to erode the powers of traditional institutions and to intensify resource conflicts. The study recommended the need for a local governance system to empower the key gatekeepers in the watershed management in order to promote the role of social institutions in the control of access to watershed resources.
Highlights
The interface between the social institutions and watershed management in a changing climate has been accorded little attention [1]
Factor analysis for the 30 items based on principle component analysis with Varimax (Orthogonal) rotation yielded 10 factors explaining a total of 77.8% of the variance for the entire set of social factor variables (Table 1) arising from Table 2 which indicates the factor loadings with communalities based on principle component analysis with rotated factor loadings for socio interests
Despite the negative correlation between climate change and social factor variables, the results showed that there was a positive correlation between social issues and watershed management, which implies that social organization was very important in land use management
Summary
The interface between the social institutions and watershed management in a changing climate has been accorded little attention [1]. Climate change adaptation measures have given less attention to social and institutional alternatives for reducing vulnerability and enhancing adaptation. Watersheds management in the context of climate change adds a new dimension to social cultural dynamics because it uncovers the inequalities underlying management and utilization within the watersheds [5]. In Uganda, despite the participation of the local community effective watershed management in Eastern Uganda has not been fully realised [9]. To date, these watersheds continue to face degradation due to over dependence on watershed resources 16, 17
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