Wildlife-livestock interactions and risk areas for cross-species spread of bovine tuberculosis

The transmission of diseases between livestock and wildlife can be a hindrance to effective disease control. Maintenance hosts and contact rates should be explored to further understand the transmission dynamics at the wildlife-livestock interface. Bovine tuberculosis (BTB) has been shown to have wildlife maintenance hosts and has been confirmed as present in the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) in the Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP) in Uganda since the 1960s. The first aim of this study was to explore the spatio-temporal spread of cattle illegally grazing within the QENP recorded by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) rangers in a wildlife crime database. Secondly, we aimed to quantify wildlife-livestock interactions and cattle movements, on the border of QENP, using a longitudinal questionnaire completed by 30 livestock owners. From this database, 426 cattle sightings were recorded within QENP in 8 years. Thirteen (3.1%) of these came within a 300 m–4 week space-time window of a buffalo herd, using the recorded GPS data. Livestock owners reported an average of 1.04 (95% CI 0.97–1.11) sightings of Uganda kob, waterbuck, buffalo or warthog per day over a 3-month period, with a rate of 0.22 (95% CI 0.20–0.25) sightings of buffalo per farmer per day. Reports placed 85.3% of the ungulate sightings and 88.0% of the buffalo sightings as further than 50 m away. Ungulate sightings were more likely to be closer to cattle at the homestead (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.1–3.6) compared with the grazing area. Each cattle herd mixed with an average of five other cattle herds at both the communal grazing and watering points on a daily basis. Although wildlife and cattle regularly shared grazing and watering areas, they seldom came into contact close enough for aerosol transmission. Between species infection transmission is therefore likely to be by indirect or non-respiratory routes, which is suspected to be an infrequent mechanism of transmission of BTB. Occasional cross-species spillover of infection is possible, and the interaction of multiple wildlife species needs further investigation. Controlling the interface between wildlife and cattle in a situation where eradication is not being considered may have little impact on BTB disease control in cattle

Wildlife Corridors and Regional Biodiversity Conservation around Selected Wildlife Protected Areas in Uganda

Wildlife corridors play a vital role in regional biodiversity conservation. Ecological attributes, changes in corridors and wildlife populations, threats to wildlife corridor functionality were evaluated using a case study of the eight wildlife protected areas in Uganda. A survey was conducted from September 2017 to May 2019, using document review, interviews, the Nature Conservancy’s Conservation Action Planning methodology, and Geographical Information System/remote sensing. The findings revealed a total of 20 key wildlife corridors in the landscape with key ecological attributes that augment regional biodiversity conservation. These corridors experience reducing vegetation cover, degradation, loss of connectivity, and degraded stepping stone habitats. They (corridors) are threatened by illegal activities, poaching and illegal wildlife tracking, unsustainable natural resource use, human population pressure, habitat transition/changes, wild fires, trans-boundary threats, infrastructure development, and climate change which affect habitat quality, diversity, and continuity. Despite the existing changes and threats, the elephant population, a migratory animal population increased. The wildlife corridors are important in conservation of regional biological diversity through maintaining the nativeness, pristineness, diversity, and resilience or adaptability of the ecosystems. The policy makers, wildlife managers, local authorities and other conservation bodies and practitioners should develop plans, policies or strategies to sustainably manage and conserve migratory animal biodiversity. Further research should be conducted to establish the functional connectivity of wildlife corridors including trends in their width across the landscape and come up with corridor restoration options. Keywords: Biodiversity, Connectivity, Landscape, Protected areas, Threats, Wildlife DOI: 10.7176/JRDM/87-05 Publication date:September 30th 202

Biodiversity conservation and threat reduction in Kibale and Queen Elizabeth conservation areas, Uganda

This paper examines threats affecting the wildlife conservation areas, threat reduction and adaptive management strategies that enhance biodiversity conservation. The research for this paper was conducted through a survey, and data was collected from August 2018 to April 2019 in Kibale and Queen Elizabeth Conservation Areas using literature review, threat reduction assessment technique, Key Informant Interviews and Focused Group Discussions and semi-structured questionnaires. The data was analysed using Geographical Information System software ESRI ArcGIS version 10.31, threat reduction assessment tool, Pearson Chi square test, Spearman’s rho correlation coefficient, Paired Samples t Test, and one-way Analysis of Variables; and presented in tables and figures. The study established that staff education level and experience in conservation work influences biodiversity conservation. The conservation areas are threatened by habitat transition/changes, wild fires, human-wildlife conflicts, armed poaching and illegal wildlife trade/trafficking in game meat and game products, increasing human population pressure, and boundary encroachment. Despite these threats, there was a general increase in large mammal population over the past decades, which collaborates well with the threat reduction assessment indices. Both conservation areas had an ecological integrity rating average score of “yellow” indicating significant “concern” and therefore “dissatisfactory”. The two conservation areas are majorly threatened by anthropogenic threats, natural threats, and administrative constraints. The wildlife agency should integrate ecosystem health into the conservation agenda. The agency should also strengthen adaptive management, law enforcement, and collaboration with local communities and other stakeholders to reduce on the threats. Finally, further research should focus on ecosystem health, and also the impact of tourism infrastructural development on biodiversity conservation. &nbsp

Verneområder og lokalbefolkning i Uganda : nytte, kostnader, livsvilkår og narrativer rundt Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

This thesis contributes to a current debate on how to balance conservation and development goals. Globally, land set aside for the protection of biodiversity has increased exponentially over the last 30 years. Despite contemporary efforts to share protected area (PA) benefits with the local people in proximity to the PAs, in particular tourism revenues, the social impacts of establishing and maintaining these areas remain a contentious issue. It is in this context that this study was conducted at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda. The specific research questions of the study were: i. To what extent does tourism revenue-sharing promote conservation and poverty reduction? ii. What is the nature of benefits derived and costs incurred by communities adjacent to the PA? iii. How are the benefits and costs distributed, and how does this affect people‟s attitudes towards the PA? iv. How do local people describe their situation as neighbours of a PA? These questions have been addressed in four separate, but interrelated studies. Data were collected using a mixed methods approach. Secondary data in the form of written sources on Bwindi was used in addition to primary data gathered through a combination of participant observations, interviews with key informants, structured interviews, semistructured interviews, and unstructured interviews. The findings reveal serious inadequacies in the tourism revenue-sharing arrangement that severely constrain the potential for poverty reduction. This also reduces its potential local support effect for the conservation. Whereas an average household reports an annual total income of US$1038, the average benefit from revenue sharing is only US$12 (or 1.2%). Any positive effect from this contribution is further reduced by problems in the allocation-making processes and associated nepotism; this is because the revenues are planned for and distributed by inept local institutions under complex institutional arrangements that lack real local participation and involvement. In addition to the direct sharing of tourism revenues there are a number of other activities that could fall under a general framework of “Development Through Conservation” (e.g. support to private tree planting). Another activity is park-related employment. Each of these two sources contributes about 2% to an average household‟s annual income. Costs include the traditional costs of physical evictions. However, the scope of this thesis is limited to the recurrent costs associated with restrictions on access to resources and damage caused by wildlife. A household bordering on the park foregoes on average about 6% of its annual income because of these restrictions on access to forest resources and on average loses another 10% of its annual income as a result of damage caused by wildlife. For some households, losses from wildlife damage can approach as much as 26% of the household income. What emerges is a situation where local people largely subsidise conservation through the high local costs. The estimated reported average local income is US$ 0.5/ per adult equivalent unit/day. Moreover, because of the problems in decision-making and the associated nepotism, tourism revenues often do not accrue to cost victims. In practice, PA benefits are often subject to local elite capture. This increases local inequality and compromises the ability of the PA to contribute to poverty reduction and improve state local people relations. In spite of this, there seems to be improved attitudes among local people towards the park, with 78 percent of our respondents believing that Bwindi‟s conversion to a national park was a good thing, and despite the lack of individual benefits. People seem to be concerned about nature and the forest regardless of possible monetary transfers. Local perceptions furthermore seem to be characterised by an ambivalence that significantly deviates from the win-win narrative frequently presented by external actors. Local actors or households do regard the present situation as unsatisfactory (a perception which is well-grounded and generally supported by the socio-economic studies in this thesis). However there is some prospect of an improved situation in the future, particularly with regard to tourism because there are promises of improvements in the amount of revenues set aside for local people. Social, political and economic issues relating to PAs are presented and discussed in this thesis. Wider implications and representivity of the findings for other protected area policies in Uganda and elsewhere are several. It is observed that the eventual successes of PAs for the future will depend not only on the overall benefits and costs that eventually reach local communities but also on the distribution of costs and benefits, the implications for damage compensation, and impact on local inequality and the compatibility of present management with local social values, and norms and perceptions of rights and duties Local narratives form important insights in this context and need to be taken much more seriously in endeavours for rights-based development, local involvement and real participation. The local narratives should thus inform policy and practice, and act as a possible counter to the narratives produced by powerful external actors.Denne avhandlingen bidrar til en pågående debatt om naturvern og utvikling. Verdens verneområder for biologisk mangfold har økt eksponensielt de siste 30 årene. Det har vært mange forsøk på å dele inntekter fra turisme i verneområder med lokalbefolkningen. Likevel er fortsatt de sosiale kostnadene ved verneområder et omstridt spørsmål. Dette er bakgrunnen for studien av Bwindi Impenetrable National Park i Uganda. Studiens problemstillinger har vært: i. I hvilken grad bidrar lokalbefolkningens tilgang til inntekter fra turisme til naturvern og reduksjon av fattigdom? ii. Hvilke goder og kostnader av verneområdet får de nærmeste lokalsamfunnene? iii. Hvordan er goder og kostnader fordelt, og hvordan påvirker dette folks holdninger til verneområdet? iv. Hvordan beskriver folk som er naboer til verneområdet sin egen situasjon og sitt forhold til parken? Disse spørsmålene har blitt besvart i fire ulike delstudier. Data ble innsamlet ved hjelp av ulike metoder. Sekundærdata som skriftlige kilder om Bwindi ble brukt i tillegg til primærdata innsamlet ved en kombinasjon av deltakende observasjon, intervjuer med nøkkelinformanter og strukturerte og ustrukturerte intervjuer. Funnene avslører alvorlig begrensninger i fordelingen av inntekter fra turisme, noe som i betydelig grad begrenser potensialet for reduksjon av fattigdom. Dette begrenser også mulighetene for å få lokal støtte for naturvernet. Mens et gjennomsnittlig hushold oppgir en årsinntekt på 1038 USD er gjennomsnittlig inntekt fra den naturbaserte turismen på bare 12 USD i året (eller 1.2% av samlede inntekter). Positive effekter av dette bidraget reduseres ytterligere av problemer med selve fordelingsprosessen knyttet blant annet til nepotisme. Dette skyldes til dels at inntektsfordelingen er planlagt for og distribuert gjennom svake lokale institusjoner med komplekse institusjonelle arrangementer og der lokal deltakelse i stor grad er fraværende. I tillegg til direkte fordeling av inntekter fra turisme, er det også en rekke andre aktiviteter som kunne falle inn under ”naturvernbasert utvikling” (for eksempel støtte til privat treplanting). En annen aktivitet er arbeidsplasser generert av nasjonalparken. Hver av disse to kildene bidrar gjennomsnittlig med 2% av husholdets årlige inntekt i følge våre undersøkelser. Avhandlingen konsentrerer seg om kostnader forbundet med begrensninger på tilgang til ressurser og skader forårsaket av vilt. Et hushold i nærheten av nasjonalparken gir i gjennomsnitt fra seg 6 % av dets årlige inntekt på grunn av førstnevnte begrensninger og 10% mistes i form av skader på avling og husdyr forårsaket av parkens ville dyr. For noen hushold vil slike viltskader kunne beløpe seg til 26% av husholdets inntekter. Resultatet er at lokalbefolkningen ender opp med å subsidiere naturvernet gjennom å bli påført høye lokale kostnader. Den estimerte gjennomsnittlige lokale inntekten er 0.5 USD pr voksen pr dag. På grunn av de nevnte problemene med forvaltningen tilfaller sjelden turistinntekter de som bærer de direkte kostnadene. Det er i praksis lokale eliter som tilriver seg mesteparten av inntektene fra nasjonalparken. Dette øker lokal ulikhet og begrenser mulighetene for naturvernet til å bidra til å redusere fattigdom og å forbedre forholdet mellom staten og lokalbefolkningen. På tross av dette, virker det som holdningene blant lokalbefolkningen til parken i seg selv har bedret seg. Blant våre respondenter var 78 % positive til at Bwindi er en nasjonalpark, til tross for mangelen på individuelle nyttevirkninger fra parken. Folk virker opptatt av vern av naturen og skogen uavhengig av pengeoverføringer. Lokale betraktninger er videre karakterisert av en ambivalens som avviker fra et vinnvinn- narrativ som ofte presenteres av eksterne aktører. Lokalbefolkningen ser ikke på den aktuelle situasjonen som tilfredsstillende. Det kan imidlertid være håp om forbedringer, fordi det er løfter om at en større andel av inntektene fra turisme skal tilfalle lokalbefolkningen. Sosiale, politiske og økonomiske sider ved vern av nasjonalparker blir presentert og diskutert i denne avhandlingen. Det er flere implikasjoner av disse funnene for andre verneområder i Uganda og andre steder. Mulighetene for at verneområder skal lykkes i fremtiden er ikke bare avhengig av generelle inntekter og kostnader, men også av fordelingen av disse inntektene og kostnadene, kompensasjon for skader forårsaket av vilt, konsekvenser for lokal ulikhet og hvordan forvaltningen forholder seg til lokale sosiale verdier, normer, rettigheter og plikter. Lokale narrativer representerer viktige innsikter i denne sammenheng og de må tas mye mer alvorlig i nye forsøk på en rettighetsbasert utvikling som innebærer reell lokal deltakelse. Politikkutforming og praksis bør derfor basere seg på slike lokale mot-narrativer som ofte står i motsetning til narrativer produsert av mektige eksterne aktører.Nordiska Afrikainstitutet (NAI) ; Norsk institutt for naturforskning (NINA

EFFECTIVENESS OF TRANSBOUNDARY COLLABORATIVE CONSERVATION IN VIRUNGA NATIONAL PARKS

The general aim was to assess the effectiveness of transboundary collaboration in thecontiguously adjoining protected areas of Virunga massive. The specific objectives were, a)to identify the role of different stakeholders in the management of transboundarycollaboration, b) to assess the level of collaboration between the three authorities andgovernments, c) to assess the participation of local communities in planning andmanagement of the natural resources, and d) to establish the effectiveness of the approach inmanaging natural resources. The study employed both the primary and the secondary datasources. The questionnaires were used to collect data from officers and the discussion withrelevant officials was conducted. A total 90 local community members were interviewed fromthe three countries. The secondary data were collected from management of MgahingaNational Park, Parc Nationaux des Volcano of Rwanda, Parc National des Virunga IGCPstaff and crossection of protected areas stakeholders and government institutions of the threecountries. The Results indicated that regarding the collaborative management between thethree authorities, it was found out that information exchange and joint patrol were the majoractivities. By 2003, in Uganda poaching had reduced to 1 case and the wire snare to 54which accounted for 2.3% and 8.8% respectively from the 23.3% and 19.6% in 1997.However the figures in Rwanda reduce slightly due to the security situation. It was alsodiscovered that the local communities of DR. Congo and Rwanda were highly involved inplanning of conservation activities that the case with Uganda

Beleaguered chimpanzees in the agricultural district of Hoima, western Uganda

With approximately 5,000 chimpanzees, Uganda is important for the conservation of the eastern subspecies Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii. The population distribution is highly fragmented, however, and the prospects for the long-term viability of many populations will be greatly improved if dispersal opportunities are maintained between major forests via migratory corridors. Chimpanzees in unprotected human-dominated habitat outside the main forest blocks are often ignored by research and conservation efforts. This study assessed the status and distribution of chimpanzees in northern Hoima District, western Uganda. The survey region covered 400 km² between 1°26'–1°37'N and 31°09'–31°32'E, and separates two major forest blocks, Bugoma and Budongo. Chimpanzees use small forest fragments along watercourses throughout this region, both on private or communal land and in small government reserves, and a number of distinct groups (‘communities’) are present. There has been no evidence to indicate that chimpanzee populations are isolated; on the contrary chimpanzees appear highly mobile in this forest–farm habitat, confirming the region’s corridor potential. At one site in the region, chimpanzees occur at an estimated density of 0.66 individuals/km² which, if extrapolated across the survey area, implies a larger population than previously thought. Recent and rapid habitat change resulting from unregulated timber extraction and clearance of fragments for agriculture — particularly for cash crops such as tobacco — has exposed the chimpanzees, causing increased negative interactions between apes and farming communities. The chimpanzees in northern Hoima are unlikely to survive without immediate intervention

REDD at the crossroads? The opportunities and challenges of REDD for conservation and human welfare in South West Uganda

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) in the tropics could slow climate change while contributing to biodiversity conservation and to improvement of people’s livelihoods. In this study we assessed the opportunities and challenges of implementing REDD in South West (SW) Uganda. We consulted key stakeholders and reviewed regional literature particularly focusing on the opportunities for conservation and human welfare benefits. We structured our study using the Simpson and Vira (2010) framework for assessing policy interventions. The leading drivers of forest loss and degradation include escalating timber trade, fuel-wood extraction and agricultural expansion. Generally, local stakeholders had limited awareness of REDD, and local expectations appeared un-realistically high. Mechanisms for allocating and administering REDD payments remained unknown. However, Civil Society Organisations appeared the most popular option to manage REDD funding as government agencies had limited credibility. For REDD to succeed, the challenges we have highlighted will need to be addressed: key to success will be improvements in foundational knowledge, enabling institutions and social conditions. Our results have implications for potential REDD activities around the world which face similar challenges.This work was supported by a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to Mbarara University of Science and Technology.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Inderscience via http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJESD.2015.07013

Effects of Oil Exploration on Wildlife Resources in Murchison-Semliki Landscape

The fresh water fish in the Albertine lakes and large mammals are under severe threats due to   an increase in human population which has resulted in over fishing and poaching. In order to understand the effects of oil exploration on the local communities and natural resources, a total of 374 youths and 51 academic staff from eight (8) Vocational Training Institutions (VTIs) operating in the Albertine region were  selected to participate in this study. Additionally, 28 graduate students on a Master of Science in Conservation and Natural Resources Management participated in group discussions focusing on effects of oil exploration on biodiversity conservation. Interviews were held with key informants selected from Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), International Oil Companies (IOCs) and the local community members selected from the study districts. Competing land uses that were identified through surveys in the study area included conservation, tourism, agriculture, timber extraction and oil exploration. There was clear evidence of Conservation interests competing with oil industry and human livelihoods. The study has shown that the positive impact of oil and gas exploration includes provision of health services, support for conservation agriculture and providing oil industry skills for the youth in Murchison-Semliki Landscape. Keywords: Agriculture, Albertine Rift, Oil exploration, Wildlife resources, Biodiversity DOI: 10.7176/JEES/14-3-02 Publication date: April 30th 202