Ugandan President Supports Conservation

Despite pressure from Basongora pastoralists returned from the Democratic Republic of Congo, President Yoweri Museveni, has made it clear that no part of any National Park in Uganda will be degazetted.

This is probably due to the immense financial benefit the parks and their wildlife bring to the country. Wildlife is integral to Ugandan tourism, which is a major contributor to the country’s economy.

According to Moses Mapesa, who wrote an opinion piece for Uganda's leading daily newspaper, The New Vision, a single gorilla in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park brings in $100,000 (US) per year and provides jobs for 30 people.

Increasing human population has caused a lot of political pressure to degazette park lands for human settlement. And, more than 90% of the Ugandan population is rural, requiring lots of land. Compare this to the less than 20% in South Africa and China, where the population is concentrated in cities and the rural areas are set aside for production and conservation of natural resources.

Human encroachment has jeopardized the wild populations, especially carnivores and omnivores, which are often poisoned by the communities. At least five lions were recently found poisoned in Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park.

To read more of Mapesa’s article, visit www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/459/515276.