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| Uwa, | |
| Strategic action plan for large carnivore conservation in Uganda 2010-2020 | |
| Full Book | |
Lions and other large carnivores are some of the greatest attractions for any ecotourism business in Africa. They are the quintessential species that come to mind when people think about the African savanna. They are also some of the most threatened species in Africa because of their conflict with man. Uganda hosts five large carnivore species: lion, leopard, hyaena, cheetah and African wild dog. An assessment of these five species shows that while many of them were widespread only 50 years ago now most are confined to protected areas and populations are declining even within these protected areas. After mountain gorillas, the large carnivores are the species tourists come to Uganda to see. As Tourism is Uganda's highest foreign currency earner these large predators also play an important economic role in the development of Uganda. In April 2010 a workshop was held to develop a ten year strategic action plan for these large carnivores which brought together the different protected areas, the Ministry of Tourism Trade and Industry, International NGOs and National Universities to pool the current knowledge about the species and to develop the plan. The overall vision and goal were defined as follows: Vision: Populations of large carnivores increased to viable numbers or managed for long term viability, playing their functional roles in the ecology of the sites and with minimized conflicts with local community members. Large Carnivores generating tangible community (vital stakeholders) benefits from responsible consumptive and non-consumptive uses and substantial national and local support for their conservation. Goal: By 2020 large carnivore populations increasing in protected areas and stabilized outside protected areas in Uganda. The following six objectives were identified from an assessment and prioritisation of threats (the threats addressed are identified in parentheses): Objectives for 10 year plan: 1. Maintain and manage at least 100% of suitable habitats for large carnivores inside protected areas and 60% outside protected areas (Threats:Habitat loss and fragmentation). 2. Reduce poaching of large carnivores and their prey inside and outside protected areas to a point that populations are stable or increasing (killing for body parts, lack of prey) 3. Reduce conflict between livestock owners and large carnivores to levels that do not impact population viability adversely (Threats: poisoning, killing over livestock loss, grazing in protected areas and poor livestock husbandry). 4. Increase national awareness and support for large carnivore conservation among political leaders, law enforcement agencies (including judiciary), communities living with large carnivores and school children (future leaders)- (Threats:political interference, negative attitudes by people, road kills). 5. Establish a health monitoring and management program for carnivores in Uganda. (disease) 6. Map distribution and abundance of large carnivores in Uganda, monitor their populations, and quantify the major threats to their long-term survival (lack of knowledge). Specific projects to achieve these objectives were identified and are documented in the plan with the prioritization of the project and estimated costs. |
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