Quality and dissemination of information on restoration of Awoja watershed in Eastern Uganda

Effective restoration of watersheds relies on several factors including quality of information shared and its sharing mechanism. Quality of information is critical in the restoration of common pool resources such as watersheds in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Quality of information can be enhanced through initiatives like capacity building. In the case of Awoja watershed of Eastern Uganda, little is known on the quality of information and appropriateness of the channels used. This study assessed the nature and quality of information and its dissemination mechanisms used in restoration of Awoja watershed. Data were collected from two sites where watershed restoration activities had been implemented by the Farm Income Enhancement and Forest Conservation (FIEFOC) and Community Based Wetland and Biodiversity (COBWEB) projects. Data were collected through review of secondary documents, key informant interviews and household surveys. The findings indicated that the community preferred information was livestock, climate change and fruit growing. The most preferred channel was training. The χ2 analysis showed significant relationship between relevancy (P<0.000), adequacy (P<0.002), timely delivery (P<0.000) and packaging of information (P<0.011); and restoration between the two restoration sites. The study found no significant difference between consistence of information and restoration in both sites. Quality of information, attributes of relevance, adequacy, timeliness and packaging should be emphasised in the subsequent projects for better restoration results. Training as a channel could be popularised to disseminate information on restoration because it was the most preferred. Therefore practitioners should include information on livestock management, climate change and fruit growing in addition to information on restoration aspects addressed in this study for better results.