Aigas Abroad - Conservation in Uganda

Posted by Brenna - 18:37 on 26 February 2012

      Chimp in the forest on Ngamba Island                            Community Football Match

I have just returned from an amazing month in Uganda with the Chimpanzee Sanctuary and Wildlife Conservation Trust (CSWCT). Through an exchange programme with CSWCT Aigas staff have able been to learn about conservation in Uganda.

Ngamba Island in Lake Victoria is a chimpanzee sanctuary. The chimps here were rescued from the bush meat trade and pet trade, or were caught in snares through conflict with people. Human wildlife conflict results from loss of the chimp’s natural habitat, forcing them into closer proximity to people. On the Island the chimps have a forest environment to spend their days and live as part of a group, which is extremely important for these social primates.

CWSCT also addresses conservation problems at their source though projects operating near Hoima, in western Uganda, where unprotected forests are home to wild chimps. It is very inspiring to see some of the great work that is being done here. Community football matches, documentary viewings, and tree planting are some of the projects that raise awareness and support for conservation.

The “Payment for Ecosystems” project offers landowners an alterative to felling the forest for charcoal and agricultural by offering payments for maintaining a healthy forest on their land, and reforesting previous farmland. The “Change my Community” project teaches college students to construct energy saving stoves, resulting in less firewood extracted from the forest.

I have been able to share some of my knowledge and experience from Aigas by giving a presentation on guiding skills for some of the Community Monitors, who will be guiding visitors on forest walks.

Overall this experience has been amazing for me; I have met inspiration people, seen beautiful landscapes, fabulous wildlife and tasted fruits that I didn’t even know existed! I will never forget seeing wild chimps run through the forest at Munteme! On Ngamba Island I did a forest walk with some of the young chimps, which gave me a real insight into their behaviour. I even got my hair groomed!

A huge thank you to all the team at CSWCT for their kindness in welcoming me and sharing their knowledge; I have learnt a great deal about wider conservation issues. CSWCT does a tremendous job in working towards a sustainable future for the forests and wildlife of Uganda.

Aigas will be running visitor programmes to Uganda with CSWCT in the near future. This is an amazing opportunity to experience a wonderful country and witness internationally important conservation work in action. Keep an eye on the website or contact us for more details. For more information about the work of CSWCT see their website: www.ngambaisland.com 

Brenna

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