Key sites for the conservation of waterbirds in Uganda

Uganda has a rich bird diversity with 1 008 species including 28 listed spe cies (Collar et al. 1994) and 207 species of regional conservation concern (Bennun & Njoroge 1996). Over 240 species are waterfowl, of which nine are globally threatened, 45 are regionally threatened and five are considered t o be of national conservation interest. This high waterbird diversity corre sponds to a large wetland area covering about 10% of the land area of Ugand a. However, only 6% of the wetlands fall under gazetted protected areas and only one site is recognised as of global importance under the terms of the Ramsar Convention. Three recent activities of JA, the National Wetlands Pr ogramme and East Africa Natural History Society (Uganda), have produced new information on distribution and abundance of waterbirds in Uganda. Concurr ent with these activities, criteria for the identification of globally thre atened species (Collar et al. 1994), species of regional conservation conce rn (Bennun & Njoroge 1996) and nationally important species (National Wetla nds Programme, in Doss) have been developed. Also. criteria for selection o f sites at the global (Ramsar and IBA), regional (IBA) and national (Nation al Wetlands Programme) levels have become available. This paper reviews the advances in the knowledge of waterbirds in Uganda and applies the above cr iteria to highlight sites that are crucial for conservation at global, regi onal and national levels.