Endangered Mountain Gorilla Species
Amidst the eviction of the Batwa indigenous communities from Bwindi in 1991, the communities have continued to grapple with livelihood challenges since they no longer access live supporting forest resources due to the restriction imposed in the park .
While the restrictions in the park were aimed at protecting its rich biodiversity, including the critically endangered mountain gorillas, this marked the deterioration in the social, economic and the cultural situation of the local Batwa communities, whose traditional livelihoods depended on the forest’s resources.
Despite the fact that the Bwindi echo system is harbouring significant number of Gorilla population which has played a significant role in the tourism sector in Uganda, generating about 814,508 tourists and earning the country a revenue of $736m in 2022, various studies show that the sector is emerging as a crucial economic asset for the country.
Research done by International Institute from Environment and Environment Development, revealed that many of these local communities adjacent to the park harboured negative attitude to the park and conservation particularly because the conservation was unfair and the cost of living close to wild animals far outweighs the benefits .
In response from November 2023 to January 2024, Environment Governance Institute with support from IUCN Save Our Species embarked on a follow up Rapid Attitude Survey to try to understand perceptions and attitudes of the park surrounding communities to conservation of Mountain Gorillas in Bwindi. actionable measures for fostering harmonious relationships and conservation efforts
consultant doing FGD with the reformed poachers group in Buhoma ,Bwindi
The study progressively engaged over 218 respondents from eight villages in Buhoma and Ruhiija sub-counties, in Kanungu and Kabaale district respectively. , local leaders i.e Local Council L.C.1, 2 town council chairpersons, as well as the Uganda Wildlife officials and opinion leaders from the Bwindi impenetrable National Park survey unearthed nuanced perspectives.
Out of the key findings from the report 82.6% highlighted to have benefited from conservation while 17.4% said that they do not respond , 59.6% of them said that they can help a trapped or injured gorilla while 40.4% said no they cannot help a trapped or injured gorilla ,37.2% of the total respondents said that they need freedom to harvest in the park while 62.8% said that freedom should not be granted to communities because of benefits they drive from the park , 52.3% indicated that gorillas should be given priority in the area than communities because of monetary income earned through tourism. 47.7% said no ‘human beings deserve more rights than Gorillas’. However, 90,4% of the total respondents agreed to co-exitance with the conservation activities while 9.6% intimated that their culture does not allow co-existence with gorillas and other wild animals.
Therefore, from the above findings, it still portrays that there are still some silent negative attitudes towards conservation from communities.
To date, EGI in collaboration with UWA has rolled out a number of livelihood communities to address a number of negative attitudes in communities including mushroom production, Quality honey production, Agroforestry benefiting over 200 households and progressively impacting over 600 community members in Bwindi surrounding communities. Ultimately fostering conservation of Mountain Gorillas and reducing encroachment of the Bwindi echo system
In the wake of all these conservation issues outlined above , EGI calls for multistake holder approach to collaboration and innovations that work towards addressing negative community perceptions and foster long-term conservation of Mountain Gorilla species in the Bwindi Impenetrable echo system.By bridging the gap between conservation goals and community needs, sustainable coexistence between humans and mountain gorillas can be achieved, ensuring the preservation of this natural heritage for generations to come.
Joy Nabulo
