MFPA – Sensitivity Atlas_edited_USAID_8-2017
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The development of the sensitivity atlas was necessitated by the level of development activities that are taking place in Murchison Falls National Park. The atlas will be one of the tools that will help developers who are operating in the protected area to be able to avoid and minimize destruction of ecologically sensitive areas in the park. The atlas will also help managers focus their efforts in case there is an impact from the developments and provide timely and appropriate response and cleanup strategies. The atlas identifies sensitive areas that should be avoided in future development. The atlas is arranged in four chapters.
Chapter 1: Background provides the background of the Murchison Falls National Park highlighting the attributes within the protected area that make it important for conservation. It gives the general background of oil exploration in Uganda, with specific information on oil and other developments in the park, and provides insight for future oil and hydropower developments.
Chapter 2: Biophysical and Socio-Economic Environment gives information on the biophysical environment including flora and fauna, climate, soils, water, and tourism facilities. It provides information on the socio economic environment and explores the socio economic activities in and around the park.
Chapter 3: Sensitivity of the Ecosystem to Developments, gives different sensitivities of the park ecosystem to developments. Different ecosystem components are ranked basing on drivers of change resulting from developments to determine the level of sensitivity. The chapter further presents the combined layers of the ecosystem components and comes up with maps indicating the sensitive areas.
Chapter 4: Conclusions and Recommendations, gives conclusions basing on the outcome of the sensitivity analysis and highlights recommendations to guide decision making.