Community Conservation

the Community protecting wildlife

Community conservation since 1990

Wildlife conservation doesn’t stop with patrolling! Like all forms of conservation work, protecting wildlife and natural places ultimately comes down to people. It’s about building a future where people live in harmony and balance with nature..

Traditional conservation approaches largely excluded the communities from protected area management. In contrast, community conservation, which has been employed since the 1990s, aims to harmonize the relationship between park managers & neighboring communities, allowing these communities access to protected area resources.

20% of the park revenue is shared with the people

“UWA recognizes the local community as a key stakeholder in ensuring the protection of wildlife“

Our Community Conservation Unit implements a number of activities

An important aspect of the Uganda Wildlife Authority’s mandate is visiting our local communities and engaging people with the array of biodiversity nearby. The significance of conservation work is emphasised as well as how different activities in the protected areas can impact the host communities, both in the short and long term. Our communities are acutely aware of the goings-on within their own villages and can be a good source of information about poachers and illegal hunting.

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Tracking Gorillas in mgahinga National Park

Our community conservation unit deliberately engages in community development efforts and UWA creates various opportunities for its host communities to benefit from tourism development both directly and indirectly. Tourists are encouraged to visit communities to experience the uniqueness of their culture as well as to contribute to business and causes at that level.

INNOVATIVE STYLE

10 US dollars from each gorilla- tracking permit sold

More deliberately, UWA shares 20% of its annual park revenue with the people surrounding our national parks and wildlife reserves in what we have termed “revenue sharing”. In addition, at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, UWA shares 10 US dollars (effective from 1st July 2015 – an increase from 5 US dollars previously) from each gorilla- tracking permit sold.

Revenue sharing money can be spent on household and community projects that meet two basic criteria: they must contribute to reducing human-wildlife conflict, or they must contribute to improving the livelihoods of households in frontline villages. Projects like goat rearing, piggeries, tree planting, beekeeping, and Irish potato growing have been funded at the household level. The construction of schools, health centres, feeder roads, and water tanks have been funded at the community level, as have projects to help reduce damage to crops by wild animals such as planting Mauritius thorn hedges.

Amounts shared depend on the number of visiting tourists

The amount of money varies depending on the number of tourists who visit the Park and track the gorillas. The money from revenue sharing is sent by UWA to the districts that keep 5% to cover administration costs and pass the remaining 95% on to the sub-counties for the agreed projects.

Only villages that share a boundary with the Park are included in the program. This is because they bear more of the costs of conservation, such as crop damage than other villages that are further away from the Park.