Valuing tropical grasslands: the case of overstocking in Northeastern Uganda

One of the major concerns of the world community today is the loss of large areas of tropical grasslands and forest. Although there are various causes of grassland degradation, an important cause seems to be an under-valuation of grasslands by markets and governments. This under-valuation of grasslands by markets and governments. This under valuation could be because many products from these grasslands (such as animal products) are consumed indirectly , or many of the products are traded in informal markets for which there is very little data. The other important reason is that some of the services provided by tropical grasslands such as animal grazing lands, hunting areas, bio-diversity protection, recreation and to some extent watershed protection, are not traded in markets; hence , their economic values are often ignored. Even in cases where the environmental values are recognized, they may not be measured or used to promote efficient resource management. This study seeks to examine some of the causes of grassland degradation and to explore grassland valuation issues in the context of Northeastern Uganda (Karamoja). Household production and consumption model based on Gronau's model of 1977 has been used. The contingent valuation method has also been used in the analysis to establish the welfare loss to the households due to overstocking . The findings revealed that there is serious environmental degradation in Northeastern Uganda mainly due to overstocking and overgrazing. It was further found out that the willingness to pay for environmental maintenance depends on social and economic variables such as income and level of education. The economic importance of the grasslands suggests that the benefits the grasslands have provided cannot be excluded as an opportunity cost of any activity that degrades them. Policy makers should be aware of this problem when designing grassland management systems.