A NATIONAL BIODIVERSITY DATA BANK FOR UGANDA
Jake Reynoldsa, Herbert Tushabeb and Panta Kasomab

a University of Cambridge Programme for Industry, 1 Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1QA, UK
b Makerere University Institute of Environment and Natural Resources, P.O. Box 7298, Kampala, Uganda

(Bulletin of the East Africa Natural History Society 29(3), 1999)
ABSTRACT
Good quality data about living resources are essential for effective conservation planning, for example to mitigate the effects of industrial and agricultural development, and to rationalise the protection offered to endangered species by protected areas. Here we describe the National Biodiversity Data Bank (NBDB) in Makerere University, Kampala, which was set up to address the need for high-quality and accessible data on biodiversity. Although still in development, the data managed by the NBDB are already in use widely.

INTRODUCTION
Effective conservation planning depends on the existence of reliable data being available on the status and distribution of living resources. Such data enable rational systems of protected areas to be designed and for interventions to be planned cost-effectively in areas of high biodiversity or other conservation value. The two agencies in Uganda with primary responsibility for protecting living resources are both undergoing extensive reform and, in the process, a significant opportunity exists to employ biodiversity data in their strategic planning processes. These are the Uganda Wildlife Authority and the Uganda Forest Department (soon to be renamed Uganda Forestry Authority).
Likewise, although not always sufficient, ecological audits and environmental assessments are now built-in to many industrial and agricultural development projects from their outset, measuring potential impacts on vulnerable species or those with restricted range. Such assessments can lead to substantial changes in project design.
In data-rich countries, such as the United Kingdom, intensive and regular inventory work makes it possible to estimate the status and distribution of living resources to a very good accuracy. But in data-poor countries, like Uganda, less data have been collected, and what data exist, may vary in quality, method of collection and accessibility. Realistically, simple distribution data arising from ad hoc species observations and small scientific projects is the only near-term source.
Following the recommendation of a meeting of Uganda's conservationists in 1990 (Pomeroy, 1990), Makerere University Institute of Environment and Natural Resources (MUIENR) decided to document Uganda's living resources in a consistent way, with the intention of making this information available to all interested stakeholders. This paper describes the resulting facility — known as the National Biodiversity Data Bank (NBDB) — and gives examples of how it has been used for conservation planning.

THE NATIONAL BIODIVERSITY DATA BANK
Prior to the establishment of the NBDB there was no central facility in the country for storing and analysing data on Uganda's biodiversity. Work began humbly in 1991, using standard 'paper and file' methods, but two years later, the amount of data gathered was such that electronic data management was required. Thus, in 1993, an electronic database application was established which became known as the Biodiversity Data Bank (BDB).
The application provided immediate impetus for the computerisation of key data, including lists of extant species in selected taxonomic group (species names had previously been standardised in co-operation with MUIENR's partners across East Africa). Computerisation of tens of thousands of species distribution records – previously stored on paper sheets – soon followed, leading to the production of the NBDB's first output: a provisional national checklist of birds. Maps of Uganda's protected areas were computerised, together with further spatial data sets of administrative boundaries, human population, key climatic variables, vegetation, rivers, altitude and human infrastructure (roads, railways and towns etc.).
During the first quarter of 1994, the BDB application was upgraded from DOS to the Windows operating system which provided integration with further analytical tools and the ability to exchange data between database and mapping applications. A simple desktop mapping package was used to prepare simple maps of species' distributions, and to filter database records according to geographic criteria. The improved BDB application is now used for entry, checking, storage, retrieval, analysis and presentation of much of MUIENR's biodiversity data.
By early 1997, the core data sets computerised by the NBDB included:

Standard taxonomic lists of Uganda's birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, groups of insects (dragonflies and butterflies) and flowering plants. Other groups can easily be incorporated as new data become available.
Approximately 30,000 field observations of birds and mammals. There are plans for entering further paper-based data on the distribution of Uganda's plants, butterflies, reptiles and amphibians.
Boundaries and descriptions of Uganda's protected areas (National Biomass Study, 1996); administrative boundaries down to parish level (Department of Population and Census); and a gazetteer database holding descriptions of the geography and habitat conditions of the sites where species have been recorded.
Details of individuals and institutions working with biodiversity information in Uganda. MUIEN was designated as the biodiversity node of the national environmental information network co-ordinated by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA).
Miscellaneous maps and databases covering the country's lakes and rivers network, White's bio-geographic zones (UNESCO, 1983), rainfall and altitude (Government of Uganda, 1967), vegetation (Langdale-Brown et al, 1964) and an ecofloristic zone classification developed by F. Blasco and P. Legris and digitised by FAO for the entire tropics in 1990 as part of its Forest Resource Assessment Project (Green et al, 1996). New layers are frequently added, and existing ones improved.

Experience gained in the NBDB is shared with other departments and units within Makerere University. For example, partnerships have been established to computerise biodiversity records in Makerere University Herbarium and Makerere University Zoology Museum.

DATA COLLECTION AND ENTRY
Data are collected by MUIENR's field teams and other co-operating researchers and naturalists within and outside Uganda. Field data are entered onto two standard forms — a biological recording form and a site survey form — which match the fields in the database. Field observations arriving at the NBDB in hard copy are checked for biological and geographical accuracy before computerisation. Verification is by local experts, with occasional recourse to others in the East African region. (e.g. unusual bird records are sent to the Nairobi-based Ornithological Sub-committee of the East Africa Natural History Society).
Typographic errors are minimised by automatic checks during data entry, which ensure that irrational data values are not accepted. Data storage is relatively efficient: a relational data model is employed such that core data (such as place names or species names) are only entered once, also reducing typographic errors. Samples of data are manually cross-checked periodically.
The BDB application enables field observations to be analysed with respect to environmental themes, including topography, climate, hydrology, vegetation and land use. This allows the NBDB to model the habitat preferences of different species in terms of the environmental conditions in which they are observed. Thus, for example, based on a number of separate specimens or distribution records of a certain mammal, its habitat preferences could be determined as 'above altitude X, min rainfall Y1, max Y2 , in areas with human population density lower than Z'.
This approach has been applied extensively to the prediction of bird species' distributions, leading to the imminent publication of a Bird Atlas of Uganda in 2000. Further studies have enabled biodiversity 'hotspots' to be located, and overall biodiversity 'values' to be assessed (Tushabe et al, in press).

APPLICATION DESIGN
It is well recognised that information for conservation planning and policy development must be clear, timely and brief (see WCMC 1998 for a full analysis). For this reason the BDB application was designed to enable data to be analysed rapidly and output in the form of standard information products. Factors which allow the application to respond quickly to information requests include:

Manual and electronic error-checking procedures for quality assurance.

A well-structured electronic filing system, capable of handling large volumes of data.

Quick and easy searching methods based upon standard query language (SQL).

Predesigned analytical capabilities, including area-based species' lists, diversity figures and predictions of species' distributions.

Integration with other computer applications, notably desktop mapping and geographic information systems (GIS).

A dedicated database development team, supported by an expert array of biodiversity researchers and discipline specialists.

USES OF THE NBDB
Major uses to which the NBDB has been put include:

Analysis of biodiversity data for the Sango Bay region (Fuller et al., 1995, Bakamwesiga et al, in press), to enable the production of an integrated conservation and development plan (this work was supported by the United Kingdom's Darwin Initiative).

Analysis of biodiversity data for Karamoja (Pomeroy and Tushabe, 1996) to enable the Uganda Wildlife Authority to reassess its protected areas policy, including prioritisation of different areas in terms of their relative biodiversity values.

A Bird Atlas of Uganda (to be published in 2000) containing species' descriptions and both actual and predicted distribution maps, supported by the British Ornithologists' Club (BOC).

Regular provision of information to researchers and other groups working in conservation projects in Uganda.

CONCLUSION
The National Biodiversity Data Bank at Makerere University has established itself as a centre of excellence for the management of biodiversity data. The NBDB's aim is to achieve a higher uptake of such data (and derived information products) in conservation planning and policy development, whether in government, industry or civil society.
By exploiting the best available knowledge on the status and distribution of Uganda's living resources, conservation measures can be designed in a cost-effective and strategic manner, rather than the reactive or ad hoc approaches which have characterised some past endeavours.
At present the Uganda Wildlife Authority and the Uganda Forest Department are both subject to long-term reform. It is hoped that both organisations will decide to utilise the extensive resources developed by the NBDB to place Ugandan conservation onto a secure scientific basis.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
MUIENR is grateful to both the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for supporting the National Biodiversity Data Bank. The support of the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) is also appreciated, as is the continuing support of WCMC. We thank Alan Rodgers and Derek Pomeroy for their comments on this paper.

REFERENCES
Bakamwesiga, H., Kasoma, P., Katabarwa, D., and Pomeroy, D.(in press). Conservation of Biodiversity in the Sango Bay area in southern Uganda. Journal of East African Natural History Society.
Fuller, R. M., Groom, G. B., Ipulet, P., Mugisha, S., Pomeroy, D. E., Katende, A. B., Bailey, R., Ogutu-Ohwayo, R. and Wandera, S. B. 1995. Darwin Initiative: computers in terrestrial ecology, Sango Bay, Uganda. Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Huntingdon, UK.
Green, M. J. B., Murray, M. G., Bunting, G. C. and Paine, J. R. 1996. Priorities for biodiversity conservation in the tropics. WCMC Biodiversity Bulletin No. 1. WCMC, Cambridge.
Government of Uganda. 1967. The Atlas of Uganda. Government Printer, Entebbe.
Langdale-Brown, I., Osmaston, H. A. and Wilson, J. G. 1964. The vegetation of Uganda and its bearing on land-use. Government Printer, Entebbe.
Pomeroy, D. E. 1990. (Ed.). Conservation of Biodiversity in Uganda. Forum II. MUIENR, Kampala, Uganda.
Pomeroy, D. E. and Tushabe, H. 1996. Biodiversity of Karamoja: A report to the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities. MUIENR, Kampala, Uganda.
WCMC 1998. Darwin Initiative Handbooks on Biodiversity Information Management. Reynolds J.H. (Ed.). Commonwealth Secretariat, London.
Tushabe, H., Pomeroy, D. and Reynolds, J. (in press). Predicting bird species occurrences for conservation planning in Uganda. Proceedings of the Pan African Ornithological Congress IX. Accra, Ghana.
UNESCO 1983. The vegetation of Africa. UNESCO, Paris.

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