Sustainable Cultural Tourism Development towards Poverty alleviation through Heritage

Conservation Trails in western Uganda

ByRaymond Katebaka

African Union of Conservationists (AUC),

Makerere UniversityP.O.Box 5068

Kampala Uganda.The 15th International

Conference of National Trusts (INTO), Imperial Golf View

Hotel, Entebbe, Uganda 30th Sept. - 4th Oct. 2013

Fostering Political will Collaboration

& mentorship

Clear harmonized legal policies practiced in sectoral institutional frameworks under governments

Improved knowledge for the generation to conserve

Information flow

Enable capacity building in research and technological innovations, environmental education

Culture is still important in conservation

Together with AUC can advocate & promote conservation of Africa’s common future by:

Economics

Engineering

Environment

Ethics

A map of World Heritage Sites in Africa by state party, each designated by a dot no sites 1-2 sites 3-4 sites 5-6 sites 7+ sites

Source: UNESCO have designated 129 World Heritage Sites in Africa. These sites are located in 37 countries

UGANDA

Attractiveness of Heritage Conservation Tourism Trails (HCTT) location

• 2 World UNESCO Heritage sites along the HCTT

• Globally recognised under several classification schemes– One of WWF’s ecoregions– Part of the Eastern Afromontane

biodiversity ‘Hotspot’ (Conservation International)

– An endemic bird area (Birdlife International)

• Compilation of species lists from around the World show how important this area is for global conservation

UGANDA

KENYA

TANZANIA

MALAWI

INDIANOCEAN

33 3

5 5

4 33

6

Lake Malawi

LakeVictoria Nairobi

BOMET

SUBA

MBALE

KAMULI

MUBENDE

Kampala

Dar es SalaamKILOSA

MGETA

BWAKIRA

2 Lake ChilwaZOMBA

DEDZA

Lilongwe

Sustainable Cultural Tourism Development

(SCTD) SCTD in W.

Uganda is endowed with abundant unique natural resources e.g. biodiversity distributed along the proposed trail

Heritage sites in W. Uganda

• 3 World UNESCO heritage sites & include:

1. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park2. Rwenzori Mts National Park3. Kasubi Tombs

<-Kigezi Wildlife Reserve

<-Queen Elizabeth National Park

<-Semuliki National Park

Industries surrounding HCTT• Tourism related

– Hotels and concessions (lodges within the protected areas)

– Professional guiding services– Educational centers with gift shops

• Currently Petroleum Exploration• Mining (Hima Cement, Kilembe Mines)• Hydropower plants coming up

HCTT focus and business development in W. Uganda

• HCTT is a Pro-Poor Tourism (PPT) that increases the net benefits to poor people & their participation in managing tourism products.

• Need to maintain a balance between development and conservation of the unique heritage in the major touristic areas which are a huge asset

• Main concerns are that if Uganda invested the same amounts in tourism as in oil mining what might Uganda generate in revenue? E.g. Heritage tourism

The potential: Gorilla trekking Common practice

Spatial coverage of the HCTT

Changes in Human settlement along the HCTT• Massive increase in settlement

and agriculture around the HCTT thus poverty.

• Plotted all houses within 2km of trail in 1954 and 2006– 29,867 buildings– ~179,200 people

• Migration corridors severed between Mgahinga -Rwenzoris and Queen Elizabeth and Kibale Parks

UNESCO site

UNESCO site

L. BunyonyiL. Mulehe

UNESCO site

UNESCO site

Batwa, Bafumbira, Bakiga cultures

Banyabutumbi

Batwa

Banyaruguru

Bamba

Bakonjo

Batooro

Kalinzu, Maramagambo, Kasyoha-kitomi CFR’s

QENP

Rwenzori Mts Ranging from Ice at 5,100 metres (16,100 ft)

Spectacular scenery

The landscape interaction in Bwindi IFNP

Current Challenges of Heritage Areas in western Uganda

Heritage conservation in Uganda• Western Uganda is reach in cultural diversity heritage

resources.• Data available shows that predominant tribes endowed

with culture:– Bakiga, Bafumbira, Banyabutumbi, Bakonjo, Batwa (pygmies)

across the entire trail in– L. Bunyonyi, L. Mulehe, L. Mutanda, in the south of the trails

• L. Edward, L. Goerge, Kazinga channel, crater lakes in the mid west of the HCTTTwo World Heritage Sites – Rwenzori and Bwindi

• One Man and Biosphere Reserve – Queen Elizabeth• One Ramsar site – Lake George/Queen Elizabeth

<-Semuliki National Park

Existing efforts of Heritage conservation in Uganda

The HCTT has 4 NPs, 2 are world UNESCO heritage site•Indigenous Culture and Cultural Diversity•Recreation and Tourism•Research and EducationAll these conserved areas are important for economic growth in terms of foreign exchange (tourism)

Heritage Trail sections global attraction for tourists in Uganda

Uganda’s largest Foreign Currency Earner $500 million Uganda’s largest Foreign Currency Earner $500 million in FY 2007/08in FY 2007/08

Challenges• Conflicting

Resource Use

TOURISM is a major source of income for gov’t from wildlife management and revenues

Challenges heritage conservation in Uganda

• No doubt that heritage & culture is pressed to meet the economic needs of the population in W. Uganda. But how?

• Hand to mouth local economy along HCTT• Conservation considered as a cross sectoral activity• Specific Policies and Laws• Inadequate proper implementation • Optimization of time spent by tourists in support of local & poor

communities • A comprehensive handling of proper funding not well calculated

• Cultural diversity resource • Structural benefit sharing from existing business enterprises

Development priorities focus in Uganda

While oil is important for Uganda future, biodiversity and heritage tourism is a longer term and sustainable prospect for bringing in money to the country – need to be balanced

Challenges …..

• Poor information flow • Several stakeholders with differing interests and priorities • Inadequate funds and overdependence on ……. • Exclusive representation • Lack of capacity in conservation organizations to develop

good projects/proposals • Corruption, • Lack of transparency and accountability• Conservation benefits not direct

What can be done!• Mainstreaming culture into

tourism requires additional efforts,

• Difficulty to question relations within poor communities

• Issues are deeply embedded in social, political and cultural

• Contemporary understanding of process and approach

• Existing tools, guidelines & structures are difficult to apply, on addressing issues

• Culture & Heritage strategies specifically require a long term

• Can INTO push for integration of Heritage strategies into the proposed SDG’s to replace the MDG’s

Ecotourism as alternate livelihood

In northern Tanzania

Valuing heritage• There is a need to value heritage in

terms of culture availability in Uganda. Some work done so far, indicate that cultural practice provided services to local people and the country worth about 0.1% of Uganda’s GDP in 2005.

• Participation in decisions & enterprises then poverty impacts are likely to be enhanced. (Estimate that each practice by batwa (pygymies) in Uganda is worth $13,500 per year in revenue to Uganda poverty will be history).

Colin Tudge proposed in Global Ecology, 1991….& J. Buckerigde 2011 with 4Es

Global Ecology 1991: • Knowledge & technique learned

from the past, • Economic & political systems

address deep problems of Heritage conservation,

4Es 2011:• Morality and conflict: Who is

important in heritage conservation?

• Can our ethics take us to the heritage conservation we want or maybe harbinger?

Thanks for Listening to meAUC acknowledges CCFU and efforts by INTO to

organise this 1st and 15th conference in AfricaYou’re welcome to support HCTT in W. Uganda

Thank you