Linking Ape Tourism and Poverty in Uganda Opportunities, Limitations and Lessons

International workshop on Linking Great Ape Conservation with Poverty Alleviation Bogor, Indonesia, 12th January 2012

Akankwasah Barirega BSc, MSc, Dip.Law, PhD (Cand.)

Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage Republic of Uganda

About Uganda

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236,040 sq km; Land-84.6% & Water-15.4%

10% gazetted as wildlife conservation areas inform of10 National Parks, 12 Wildlife Reserves, 10 wildlife sanctuaries, 5 community wildlife areas

24% is gazetted as forest reserves inform of 506 Central Forest Reserves and 191 Local Forest Reserves.

13% is gazetted as wetlands

Surface area and protection status

Uganda ranks among the top ten most bio diverse

countries globally with 18,783 so far recorded

species of fauna and flora

53.9% of the World’s remaining population of

Mountain gorillas

11% (1063 species) of the world’s recorded species

of birds (50% of Africa’s bird species richness)

7.8% (345 species) of the Global Mammal Diversity

(39% of Africa’s Mammal Richness)

Biological diversity

19% (86 species) of Africa’s amphibian species

richness

14%(142 species) of Africa’s reptile species richness

1,249 recorded species of butterflies

600 species of fish

5,406 species of plants 30 of which are endemic to

Uganda

Biological diversity …..

Great Apes of Uganda

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Apes: Old World anthropoid mammals, belonging

to the biological superfamily Hominoidae (Gorillas

and Chimpanzees)

Tourism: Activities, Services and Industries that

deliver a travel experience.

Poverty: Inability to acquire the basic goods and

services necessary for survival with dignity.

Context

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Ecological services (Rainfall, Pollination, Climate, Medicine..)

Opportunities

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Direct Income to Government

Gorilla Tracking US$ 500/Day

Chimpanzee Tracking US$ 150

Chimp habituation experience US$ 220/Day

Gorilla Permits alone generate US$ 4,347,826 annually

100% of direct revenue is appropriated to conservation

agencies to fund conservation activities

Opportunities………

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Indirect Income to Government

Foreign exchange earnings-US$662million in 2010

Taxes on goods and services in the tourism sector

Tourism contribution to GDP was~US$1 Billion

(9.2%) as of 2010

Opportunities….

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Employment Household incomes Over 268,000 enterprises are engaged in tourism related

businesses, with 200 companies registered as Tour and Travel

Operators, each employing 12 persons on average

UWA alone employs 1300 permanent staff

Over 80,000 people in Ape related Tourism Value Chain

Opportunities……

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Market for locally produced goods and

services

Opportunities……

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Revenue sharing programme-

US$350,980 has been so far released to communities

neighboring Bwindi, Mgahinga and Kibale National

Parks, 2002-2010

Opportunities……

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Integrated Conservation & Development

Community livelihoods Projects

Opportunities……

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Empowerment of the Marginalized Groups

Opportunities……

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Enhanced Safety & Security

SWIFT Force

Tourism Police

Opportunities……

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Infrastructural growth eg Hotels, Roads, Power etc

Inter/National Linkages with the local people

Student Sponsorships/Exchange Community empowerment Projects Knowledge and technology transfer Community awareness & involvement

Social Capital formation

Opportunities……

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Un even distribution of opportunities

Crop raiding, conflicts

High community revenue expectations

Poaching and untargeted killing of Apes

Potential negative impacts from tourism activities eg

diseases, stress, behavior change, change in home

range, etc

High cost of living for the locals etc

High human population, poverty in Ape areas-Loss

of unprotected habitats

Limitations

Revenue/Benefit sharing is an effective tool for

positive conservation attitude

Collaborative Management of Protected Areas a

highly cost effective approach but law enforcement

should always be blended

Well moderated Eco-Tourism can be an effective

conservation tool and a poverty reduction

approach

Lessons Learnt

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