December. 1999 
7 
In daia-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 
ansing 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 
3l! interested stakeholders This paper describes the 
resulting facility— known as die 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 
1990. 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 
•BOB). 
The application provided immediate impetus lor the 
computerisation of key data, including lists of extant 
species in selected taxonomic groups (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 i. 
During the first quarter of 190*1, the BDB application 
was upgraded from DOS to the Windows operating 
system which provided integration with further 
analytical tools and ihe 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. 
At the time of writing, the core data sets 
computerised by the NBDB included 
• Standard taxonomic lists of Uganda’s birds. 
mammals, repnles. amphibians, groups of 
insects (dragonflies and butterflies) and 
flowering plants. Other groups can easily be 
incorporated as new data become available 
• Over 40.000 field observations of birds and 
mammals. There are plans for cnicring 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 Sludy. 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 
MUIENR was designated as ihe biodiversity 
node of the 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 /.ones (UNESCO. 1983). rainfall and 
altitude (Government of Uganda. 1967). 
vegetation (Langdalc-Brown eta! . 1964) and an 
ccolloristic zone classification developed by 
F, Blasco and P Lcgris and digitised by FAO 
flSr the entire tropics m 1 990 as part of its Forest 
Resource Assessment Project (Green et al, 
1996) New layers are frequently added, and 
existing ones improved. 
Experience gained in ihe 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-opcrating researchers and naturalists within and 
outside Uganda Field data are entered onto two 
standard forms— a biological recording form and a site 
sunn 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 ihe East African 
region, (e g. unusual bird records arc 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 thai 
core data ( e.g place names or species names) are only 
entered once, also reducing typographic errors. Samples 
