BY EDITOR
The Tourism sector generates over 1.5 billion dollars to the Ugandan economy annually, a Uganda Wildlife Authority – UWA official has revealed
The above amount of money is collected from all the protected conservation areas across the country. Uganda’s protected conservation areas cover 10% of the country’s land. These include wetlands, forests, rivers and national parks among others.
Mr. Christopher Masaba, the Senior Warden for the Queen Elizabeth National Park made the revelation on Wednesday while facilitating at a training of the Conservation Wildlife Scouts from the Central and Nyamwamba Divisions of Kasese Municipality at the Central Division Hall.
Mr. Masaba, who reiterated the need for the people to cheerfully protect the game reserves and national parks, highlighted that Uganda’s leading foreign earner is tourism which collects over 1.5 billion dollars every year.
The Senior Warden, however, noted that the rate of poaching and other human illegal activities are high in all the reserves countywide due to poverty and illiteracy among the people. He also stressed that at least 1,605 cases of human illegal activities are reported yearly, translating to 22%. This, according to him means that they record four cases on a daily basis.
Mr. Selevest Masereka, the Assistant Warden in charge of Problem Animal Control in the Queen Elizabeth National Park, implored the scouts to fully participate in the mitigation of human wildlife conflict by protecting communities from wildlife attacks, crop damage, property destruction and livestock predation through using both traditional and modern approaches. He also encouraged them to always sensitize the masses on how best they can promote economically viable alternative means of livelihoods in their respective communities.