This paper uses data from 600 households in the Lake Victoria watershed in Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda to analyze the effects of vulnerabilities and shocks on the management and exploitation of wetlands within the context of agricultural activities and high poverty levels. A multinomial logit model is used to determine variables that influence the perception of wetlands degradation, while a tobit model is used to establish the determinants of willingness to pay for wetland conservation and the imputed value of wetland product extracts. The model results show that although the perception of wetland degradation is modest, it is influenced by attributes of social capital. Variables such as floods, diseases and droughts significantly influence the households' willingness to pay for wetland conservation. Land size and ownership, education level and household size all influence households' likelihood to actively engage in wetland resource exploitation and willingness to pay for its conservation. The implications of these results hinge on measures that would moderate the effects of shocks, mobilize collective action, and improve physical infrastructure within the context of sustainable wetland resource use.

Wetland fisheries provide a fundamental economic activities for wetland populations and surrounding population centres. In the Yala swamp, on the Kenyan coast of Lake Victoria, fishing is among the most important income earning activities for the local community, with average incomes nearly four times those attainable in agriculture. The fishery is also regarded as the highest supplier of animal protein in the area. In the present analysis, we examine the determinants of fish catch levels in the Yala swamp using socioeconomics, ecological, and fish catch data from of ten landing beaches within Yala swamp and along the shores of Lake Victoria. Descriptive statistics were used to understand the socio-economics characteristics of fishers who utilize the Yala swamp system. A CobbDouglas production function was used to establish the factors that influence fish catch levels. The results show that household size, household income, length of boat, total phosphorus and total nitrogen are correlated positively with fish catch. Negative correlations with the level of nitrates, chlorophyll-a, and educational level and age of the fisher were also found. The challenge for policy makers regarding wetland fisheries is how to involve the local fishermen in the sustainable management of fishery resources within the integrated management of all the wetland resources.

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