Ranked as the major driver of employment, investment and foreign exchange, tourism sector is one of the major sources of Uganda’s revenue. The tourism of Uganda is mainly focused on the landscapes and wildlife and it contributes almost Ush 4.9 trillion to the country’s GDP as seen in the financial year 2012-2013. It greatly plays an important role in the promotion of people’s standards of living due to various tourism companies that employ people in different positions like drivers, marketers, guides, secretaries, accountants and others.
Dubbed as a “Pearl of Africa” by Winston Churchill in 1907, Uganda is one of the main destinations on the African continent bordering various countries like Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo. With a total area of approximately 241,038 square kilometers, Uganda encompasses a number of tourist attractions including the national game parks, game reserves, traditional sites, natural tropical forests, and mountaineering destinations. All these attractions highly contribute to the development of the social, economic and political aspects of the country thus condemning all the acts that involve their destruction.
In the acts of protection and conservation of the tourist attractions in Uganda, international bodies like World Wildlife Fund (WWF) have come up with different strategies so as to restore the prestige of important destinations like Rwenzori mountain Ranges.
Located in the south – western region of Uganda, Rwenzori mountains stand as the highest mountains in Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo and the third highest African mountains after Kilimanjaro of Tanzania and Mount Kenya. They are among the glaciated mountains on the African continent though there was some reduction on the snow due to global warming which is caused by different factors like deforestation, human settlements and others. To protect the pride of the mountains which is its snowcapped peaks, WWF recruited over 400 farmers along the buffer stretch of Rwenzori mountains national park (the park which protects the snowcapped mountains) to plant various tree species in 2020.
The move that was recruited saw about 192,000 indigenous trees of species like Mahogany, Prunus Africana, and Terminalia along the stretch of the park and the 400 farmers also planted 255,530 pine trees and 127,765 of Eucalyptus species. The farmers who were chose for the activity had earlier signed the Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) forms which confirmed that they had agreed to be part of the conservation and also allowed the organization to plant trees on their pieces of lands.
With fund support from Hempel Foundation of Denmark, WWF is implementing and promoting multimillion projects named ‘’Sustainable future for Uganda’s unique world heritage’’. The project’s main aim was to ensure reforestation of the degraded lands around the zones of Rwenzori mountains national park and it operated in districts where the mystical mountain crosses like Kasese, Kabarole, Bunyangabu, Ntoroko and Bundibugyo.
Conservation Value of the Rwenzori Mountains
The Rwenzori mountains, higher than the Alps and ice-capped though nearly on the Equator, are exceptional for their scientific importance and spectacular scenery. They are the most permanent sources of the Nile and one of the region’s most vital water catchments for over 500,000 people. Because of their altitudinal range, and the nearly constant temperatures, humidity and high insolation, the mountains support the richest montane fauna in Africa. There is an outstanding range of species, many, especially at high altitude, endemic to the Albertine rift and bizarre in appearance. Also present are at least three globally threatened mammals, plus a potentially large number of undocumented invertebrates and plants, all threatened by a growing population and the breakdown of order following civil conflict. The park is a small but significant element of the transnational western (Albertine) rift system of protected areas, one of the most extensive conservation zones in Africa. Conserving the Rwenzori is a major opportunity to maintain intact a sensitive and extensive natural habitat (Howard, 1991).
Conservation Management
Following the breakdown of law and order during the 1970s and 1980s, the montane forest zone was violated by intensive hunting for bushmeat and other resources. As a result the wild buffalo is now extinct in Uganda and many species formerly abundant are now rare. In 1991 local communities were wary of the park being gazetted for fear of losing their use of it (Yeoman, 1992). In addition, the only trail to the highest peaks was being used beyond its carrying capacity (Loefler, 1997). The increase in visitor numbers to unsustainable levels of use in the 1990s brought trail erosion and widening, loss of vegetation and substrate, rubbish and unsanitary conditions on The Park is not yet zoned and for long was not patrolled. Moreover, the high cost of central administration may be beginning to pre-empt the use of funds for local projects. There is need for a plan and a consistent and enforced policy in the interests of the latter and to control the numbers and destructiveness of tourists (Yeoman,1989). Lush, (1993) listed the bases for an action plan.
During the 1990’s there was a suspension of projects, serious insecurity and a lack of facilities and monitoring over a greater part of the Park. There was concern that the income generated by tourism has not been enough to support local communities, whose only other source of income is agriculture. Moreover, the population density of the area surrounding the park, already very high (between 150 and 430 persons/sq.km), is increasing and the consequent denudation and erosion of the foothills outside the park boundary continues. The Park was closed to visitors in 2000 as civil unrest still made it unsafe for people and animals and the local people still saw it as a major source of resources while the Park staff had no means of dealing with either challenge. Illegal logging, poaching and trafficking in small animals especially by local armed groups remain common. (UNESCO,2000). But by 2001, security had improved enough for the Park to be reopened to visitors (UNESCO, 2002).
Conclusion
For the best profits from our attractions and safety of our country, lets learn and try to conserve our environments and the tourist destinations at large. Among the ways include; practicing afforestation, reforestation, setting strict laws against deforestation and other sorts of environmental destruction. Apart from Rwenzori mountains national park, Uganda is a home to other mountaineering destinations like Mount Elgon national park, Mount Gahinga, Mount Moroto and others. It also hosts several wildlife destinations like Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison falls national park, Lake Mburo National Park, and the home of almost the world’s mountain gorillas – Bwindi Impenetrable national park.