HARNESSING TOURISM THROUGH CONSERVATION
In Uganda and Africa at large, nature is our biggest source of Tourism. Being a rich natural continent, we are a people who feed and earn from nature. From the rich fertile soils, to the earthly flowing waters, to the unique vegetation cover, the birds and animals which find comfort in the beautiful landscape. These are what make us African and these are the unique features which attract tourists to get a feel. Therefore, there is great need to conserve whatever natural beauty we hold, because that’s our beauty, that’s our stand and that’s what sets us apart.
For a country like Uganda, with all its radiant history, heavenly blessed flora, diverse fauna and breathtaking sceneries in every corner, We are inclined to keep our glory shining and this can only be done through conserving every beauty we hold. Being the 13th richest for mammals, second for birds, 7th for higher plants and habouring the source of one of the longest rivers and beautiful montainous adventures: this gives us a lot to fight for and a lot is at stake if we sit back and relax. Natural habitats- particularly forests and wetlands- are being lost at an alarming rate, while poaching is also taking its toll on vulnerable species. The discovery of oil and gas within the Albertine Graben biodiversity hotspot also has the potential to wreak havoc on Uganda’s vitally important natural environment. The main threat to biodiversity conservation in Uganda is the increasing human population and the consequent demand for land. Competing land-use options (agriculture, timber harvesting, mining, oil and gas exploration) mean that biodiversity is often overlooked. Where once human settlements and agricultural areas were islands within a large mosaic of natural habitat, today the reverse is true. Over-fishing, disease and climate change have been and may be responsible for the decline of some species or their extinction. It is therefore critical to conserve Uganda’s remaining protected areas. In consideration of these events, the country has created different ecological and environmental sectors to help restore habitats, protect wildlife, sustain resource management and community-based conservation efforts. Uganda wildlife Authority (UWA) as one of the sects, is Uganda’s government agency responsible for the management and protection of wildlife in and outside protected areas. The agency is supervised by the ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities. The sect manages 10 National Parks, 12 Wildlife Reserves, 5 Community Wildlife Management Areas, and 13 Wildlife Sanctuaries. Other sects for example, “Conservation and tourism Uganda” help in identifying, developing and promoting talent projects and activities on and related to conservation and nature- culture based tourism among the youth, women, people with disabilities, marginalized groups, indigenous communities and all people in Uganda for socioeconomic wellbeing of the people and the environment conservation. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) was also established to conduct biodiversity surveys and come up with conservation plans. The surveys have provided point location data for species across thousands of sampling locations and Recent advances in the field of conservation planning have made it possible to quantitively identify areas in which to focus conservation efforts and the trade offs with other potential land use options in a particular landscape.
Tourism on the other hand, is one of Uganda’s key sectors contributing about 4.7 percent to
the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and therefore, conservation of resources in the country is paramount. There’s a distinct difference between nature conservation and nature preservation. While nature conservation and nature preservation are similar because the goal is to protect nature, the way of doing it differs. Preservation means protecting nature from human use, while conservation seeks a sustainable use of nature by humans with activities like hunting, logging, or mining. Uganda is by far trying hard to maintain the balance between the two and this is evident in the parks, reserves and efforts it’s making to regulate.
We believe that “You’re more likely to want to save the rhinos if you’ve actually seen them.” Therefore, tourism is a major concern for both the country’s welfare and conservation of nature’s gifts. Tourism is important for conservation for multiple reasons. One reason is because it can financially support conservation efforts. Tourists can eat locally to support a community, or they can choose to participate in a tour where a portion of the cost goes directly to conservation efforts.
Most conservation efforts actively teach people the importance of protecting different environments and inspire them to care about the new places they have seen. Wildlife parks and zoos play a vital role when it comes to conservation because without preserving real life habitats, it is almost meaningless to maintain animals in captivity. Therefore, there is more reason to tourism in the country because you can’t miss out on sights and a diverse variety of species in the different national parks.
A tour through Queen Elizabeth National Park, located in western Uganda, spanning the districts of Kasese, Kamwenge, Rubirizi, and Rukungiri whose major tourist attraction is the Mweya peninsula that provides access to the Kazinga channel and lake Edward, is home to endangered chimpanzees and a variety of many other wildlife species, would be great!!. Besides its outstanding wildlife attractions, Queen Elizabeth National Park has a fascinating cultural history. There are many opportunities for visitors to meet the local communities and enjoy storytelling, dance, music, and more. The gazetting of the park has ensured the conservation of its ecosystems, which in turn benefits the surrounding communities.
Lake Mburo National Park, also known as “whispers in the wind” because it is surrounded with a fresh water lake is located conveniently close to the highway that connects Kampala to the parks of western Uganda. It is famous for its scenic landscapes,featuring rolling hills, swamps, and lake mburo, after which it is named. It is home to 350 bird species as well as zebras, impalas, elands, buffaloes, oribi , defassa waterbuck, leopards, hippos, hyenas, topi and reedbuck. Isn’t Uganda’s nature great? There’s a conservation education center at the western sanga gate of lake Mburo national park where all the questions about the park can be answered because it provides visitors with information, history, tour guides, park resources and many more.
Take a look at Kibale national park in Western Uganda that protects moist evergreen rainforests. Despite encompassing primarily moist evergreen forest, it contains a diverse
array of landscapes. It is the last remaining expanse to contain both lowland and montane forest and has the highest diversity and concentration of primates in Africa. You sure can’t miss a glimpse of the endangered chimpanzees as well as the red colobus monkey ( status: endangered) and the rare L’Hoest’s monkey( vulnerable). This shows just how much the country is being careful about nature. The conservation area in this park offers a magnificent view of the Rwenzori ranges, excellent birding experiences, and rewarding nature walks through the forest.
“I was amazed by the interaction of the primates and its closeness to human behaviour. I implore people from all over the world, especially African Americans to come to Uganda and dive into the amazing touristic adventure for better understanding and knowledge of our footprints and deeper roots. People need to make their way to Uganda as it’s beautiful and worth visiting”. Said the American film actor Terrence Howard after his visit to Kibale national park.
‘’the experience I had was more like those songs that one would hear on Christmas that welcome you home. The nature walks through the park was covered by sweet sound of the birds and the creatures. And the movement of the chimps; felt like something I had deep within my DNA,” he added. With such recommendations, the tourism industry has been able to keep growing steadily, bringing in more capital that in turn is used to conserve resources in the country.
There’s the Kidepo national park located in the northeastern region of Uganda in kabong district that borders South Sudan. It is a beautiful place surrounded with good savanna grasslands, woodlands, hills, Murungole mountains, and dazzling valleys with roaring waters. If you love birds, this is the perfect spot to visit because it is considered to be a birders paradise and has over 450 bird species. Isn’t that amazing?.
Uganda also has the semuliki national park in its western region, Bundibugyo district that is famous for the hot springs due to the local stories about their formation than the scientific explanation. Did you know that these springs have gender? There’s a female and male hot spring boiling geyser gushes out steam and bubbling water several meters high and can be seen more than a kilometer away. This makes me understand the reason why Mr. Churchhill named it the pearl of Africa.
Have you been to Mgahinga national park? If you haven’t, I’ll give you a tour through this article. Mgahinga national park is located southwestern Uganda in the Virunga mountains and encompasses three inactive volcanoes, namely Mount Muhabura, Mount Gahinga, and Mount Sabyinyo. The park derives its name from ‘Gahinga’ the local word for the piles of volcanic stones cleared from farmland at the foot of the volcanoes. As its name suggests, it was created to protect rare mountain gorillas that inhabit its dense forests, and it is also an important habitat for the endangered golden monkey. As well as being important for wildlife, the park also has a huge culture significance in particular for the indigenous Batwa pygmies.
If you haven’t met short if you haven’t met the 1.5 meters height Batwa.
There’s the Rwenzori Mountains national park located in the southwest part of Uganda on the east side of the western ( albertine) African rift valley. The park has the Margherita peak which is Africa’s third highest, for which it is famous. It provides great opportunities to seeing nature at its finest, It’s plant life diverges from the tropical rainforest, bamboo woodlands, montane cloud forests to high- altitude vegetation and the decor is correctly outstanding. Here, you’ll get all the stories about the mountains of the moon and more.
When they say that Uganda is incredibly rich, they sure mean it. Take a look at Mount Elgon national park, the world’s largest mountain caldera located on the Uganda- Kenya border. It is the oldest and largest solitary volcanic mountain in Africa. Mount Elgon has the largest volcanic best in the world. It is an important water catchment for the Nzoia River which flows to lake Victoria, and for the Turkwel river (known as the Suam river in Uganda), which flows into lake Turkana. It is home to over 300 species of birds including the endangered Lammergeyer. Lovely sights, lovely views.
There’s Bwindi impenetrable national park, southwest of the country in Kanungu district. It is part of the Bwindi impenetrable forests and species diversity is a feature of the park. It provides habitat for 120 species of mammals, 350 pieces of birds, 310 species of butterflies, 27 species of frogs, chameleons, geckos and many endangered species. Floristically, the park is among the most diverse forests in East Africa with more than 1000 flowering plant species, including 200 species of trees and 104 species of ferns. The park is notable for the 400 Bwindi gorillas, half of the world’s population of the endangered mountain gorillas. East, west, and center, you get to see nature at its peak in Uganda.
You haven’t seen nothing yet if you haven’t visited the world’s greatest waterfalls. Murchison Falls National Park also known as Kabalega National Park is a top Uganda Safari destination and its attraction is a Paraa boat stretch to the bottom of the world’s most powerful waterfall that emits large volumes of water about 300 cubic meters per second or 11000ft 3/s at a very powerful pressure that cause the surrounding to tremble. You can just imagine the sight of a waterfall on a shaking ground.
With such destinations, we sure have a lot at stake and more reason for conservation and protection and tourism can be a powerful tool for conservation when harnessed effectively. This can be effectively done in any of the following ways;
1.Ecotourism : Encourage responsible travel practices that support conservation efforts and promote the value of natural habitats, such as swamp walks and birding that is being done in Bigodi swamp around Kibale National Park
- Wildlife tourism: Support conservation efforts by visiting national parks, wildlife reserves, and sanctuaries that protect endangered species, case in point we have Ziiwa Rhino sanctuary which has helped in repopulating the white rhinos that were extinct, Ngamba island with the chimpanzees, UWEC and many others can be created or capacities of these existing initiatives expanded so that we see more growth and sustainability of.
- Community-based tourism: Empower local communities to manage and benefit from tourism, incentivizing them to conserve their natural resources, culture and tourism can always be aligned to create a unique product, the batwa community in Bwindi and Karatunga community in Karamoja are some of the examples of such initiatives that should be adopted with many other communities around the protected areas to create a more direct link between the communities and the benefits of tourism activities in such areas.
- Sustainable tourism practices: Promote environmentally friendly accommodations, transportation, and activities that minimize tourism’s ecological footprint. In the recent years, we’ve had celebrities who have visited our country and this has made us more vibrant worldwide. The
Renowned Senegalese-American musician, investor, and philanthropist Aliaune Damala Badara Thiam, popularly known as Akon gave his view about Uganda after his four – days visit in 2021. “I believe Uganda has the biggest tourism potential in the whole of Africa. Believe me, I have been everywhere in Africa and I haven’t seen the potential like this. I am super excited. When I look at the potential in a tourist point of view, I believe Uganda has one of the biggest potentials,” he said and I believe that he was right!
- Conservation-focused tours: Offer guided tours that educate visitors about conservation efforts and support research projects.
“Uganda is home” said rapper Kanye West after his visit to the country. Kanye and his wife Kim were staying at a luxurious safari lodge in a national park when West “expressed happiness at being in Uganda, describing it as his second home,” the statement said, adding that West pledged to put up a “world class tourism school in the country saying it will be a foundation of tourism not only in Uganda but the East Africa region in general.”
- Revenue sharing: Allocate a portion of tourism revenue to support conservation initiatives and local communities. Revenue sharing is being done but this has not been effectively executed since the communities don’t see what the money allocated to them does.
- Capacity building: Train local communities and conservationists in sustainable tourism practices and conservation management.
- Low-impact tourism infrastructure: Develop eco-friendly accommodations, trails, and facilities that minimize habitat disruption.
- Certification programs: Establish certification programs that recognize tourism operators committed to conservation and sustainability.
- Collaboration: Foster partnerships between tourism stakeholders, conservation organizations, and local communities to achieve common goals.
By harnessing tourism in this way, we can support conservation efforts, benefit local communities, and promote the value of natural habitats. Nalutaaya Bushirah.