The Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Hon. Tom R. Butime, has urged senior officers of Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) to continue fostering patriotism and intensify their efforts in supporting the country’s ten-point program, which focuses on rebuilding Uganda’s political and socio-economic status following years of civil war and political instability.

He made these remarks during the official opening of the two weeks Transformative and Leadership Development Training for UWA management at the National Leadership Institute (NALI) in Kyankwanzi.

The minister emphasized that to effectively address current challenges, UWA officers need to evolve beyond the role of Chief Wardens to become individuals who fully embrace the government’s goals and objectives. He highlighted the importance of the training, which covers topics such as ideology and Pan-Africanism, socio-economic transformation, wealth creation strategies, strategic planning, ethics, and communication. These subjects are particularly relevant to the tourism and wildlife sector given the increasing and evolving conservation challenges.

With the conservation environment rapidly changing due to factors like population growth and the expanding demand for land for agriculture, housing, urbanization, and industrial development, protected wildlife areas are under growing pressure. This situation calls for innovative, tailored approaches to tackle emerging issues such as human-wildlife conflict, sophisticated wildlife poaching, and illegal trade and trafficking.

The minister noted, “While we plan, criminals are also strategizing. Wildlife crime networks are leveraging technology to broaden their operations, advertise, and sell wildlife species and products globally on the black market. Therefore, technical and scientific training, along with adaptive mentorship and leadership development programs like this one, are essential to fully understand our challenges, influence mindsets, and find solutions.”

He assured the government’s continued support for wildlife conservation, noting that the president has been a leading advocate in this area. Since 1986, more than six national parks have been established, including Kibale, Semuliki, Bwindi Impenetrable, Rwenzori Mountains, Mgahinga Gorilla, and Lake Mburo/Mount Elgon National Parks. Additionally, three more conservation areas—Echuya and Bugoma National Parks and Katonga plus Bukaleba Wildlife Reserve—are in development.

The minister also credited strong national policies, laws, regulations, and institutions, as well as trained and committed rangers, effective community conservation frameworks, benefit-sharing arrangements like resource access and revenue sharing, economic integration through wildlife-based tourism, technological innovations and data integration (such as Earth Ranger and camera traps), and the availability of donors and partners as key factors supporting conservation efforts.

Future Prospects of the Tourism Sector

The tourism sector is projected to contribute $50 billion, representing 10% of the government's target of a $500 billion economy by 2040 under the national Tenfold Growth Strategy and the Fourth National Development Plan 2025/2031.

The current Sector Earnings rose UGX 5.83 trillion (approximately US$1.62 billion) according to the recent annual performance report (2025). International arrivals hit 1.64 million in 2025, with average visitor stays increasing to 8.8 nights and average spending reaching $986 per trip. The sector currently contributes around 6% to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The sector employs over 876,000 jobs across hospitality, transport, and conservation. In order to achieve the envisaged contribution, the is need to address the following;

• Address poaching and strengthen wildlife protection initiatives.
• Hungry and angry communities cannot support wildlife conservation, therefore communities need to understand and appreciate the value of conservation in order to reduce the magnitude of human wildlife conflict.
• Targeted funding to support harnessing of existing opportunities, develop diversify new tourism products including infrastructure. Government will be required to funda little more funds in order to develop products and harness the sector's full economic potential.  Attainment of long-term prospects will largely depend on targeted investment in the sector with a view to harnessing opportunities and contributing to national economic development.

By the end of the training, the officers in attendance led by the Executive Director Dr. James Musinguzi will have acquired enhanced knowledge and skills in governance, command and control, decision-making, and other essential adaptive leadership abilities.