Mountain Gorilla Consevation In Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Conservation efforts in Bwindi have historically faced a variety of obstacles, which largely emanated from conflicts of interest over land usage, specifically the desire on the part of local community and members to access Park resources. In the past, Bwindi was faced with serious management problems of poaching, pitsawying, gold mining, wildfire, agricultural encroachment, illegal  and removal of forest products, livestock grazing, crop raiding, lack of personnel and equipment. 

During this time the majority of illegal activities have brought under control by law enforcement and  due to population pressure visà vis increased demand for  livelihood needs, the local  communities will continue to depend on the Park’s resources and the tourism. Conservation problems in  the republic of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo meant that all tourists interested in gorilla safaris headed for Bwindi and at this  time, Bwindi can offer  only 10 gorilla viewing permits per day which are  not enough and has caused UWA problems of designing the best “Gorilla Permits Sharing Policy which has not been possible  and secondly, there is  enormous pressure to have more gorillas habituated for tourism which is very  risky to the  continued existence of gorillas and yet already, one of the tourist groups in Bwindi has continued to shrink in group size which is attributed to the  reason in not yet fully known but gorilla contact with humans might be one of the causes. Nevertheless, another group is being habituated in Bwindi and this is  eventually give an  additional six permits though these  are enough for the wide spread market and are compatible with the gorillas’ continued existence, The BINP Tourism Programme emphasizes  continued gorilla tourism activities, constructing and maintaining a network of tourist trails and tourism diversification. The International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP) is helping with this.  Community Conservation

The local communities adjacent to BINP are actively involved in contributing to conservation and management of the Park and the Management Advisory Committees and Park Parish Committees have been set up and are functional units linking the entire local people in the neighborhood to conservation. The community conservation programme is addressing community needs as they relate to the long term conservation of BINP through a multiple use programme, a reenuesharing and the programme, and a Conservation Education Programme. Under this section, there is a crucial issue of crop raiding by gorillas. CARD/DTC is helping in advising and implementing a few initiatives. Research and Monitoring Not much research has or is being done concerning gorillas and their habitat. This has been due to a lack of funds, time constraints and a shortage of expertise. Whereas at a broader level, the Uganda Wildlife Authority is currently implementing a Collaborative Research  and Monitoring Programme.

Adventurous trips in Uganda

Guests man oeuvre the rapids during the water rafting bit of the adrift experience 

If you love to get your adrenaline pumping, this place in Jinja will do it for you with its lineup of white water rafting, wild jet races and high bungee jumping.

It may not sound so familiar to local tourists possibly because of the challenges involved and the fee charged but the nice services and beautiful setting of the Adrift camp make it an attractive place. Adrift is currently the only adventure company offering white water rafting, bungee jumping, jet boating and river surfing on source of the Nile near the then Bujagali Falls in Jinja.

With a daily free shuttle from Kampala to Jinja, after booking at $125 (about Shs337, 500) for a day and $115 (about Shs310, 500) for half a day respectively, there are guides available to serve breakfast upon arrival and take you through the drills of white water rafting.

Water rafting

“You shouldn’t carry any valuable items save for the costume you are going to raft in,” Yasin Magembe, a guide, said at a recent visit. Equipped with paddles, life jackets and helmets, you paddle in inflatable boats or rafting boat as you navigate Africa’s longest river, the Nile.

Minutes into the paddling, you are advised to hold on to the boat as the waves lead you to the rapid falls where the high water pressure forces you down the falls. With rescuers waiting down the falls, cheers from fellow rafters who have already completed the challenge welcome you. It all gives cadence to just how memorable this experience is.

Jet boating

Before you get over the rafting challenge, another exciting one awaits you –racing on the jetting boats, up and down the Nile rapids.

At about 90 kilometers per hour, the boat comes with propulsion jets at the sides which spin at 360 degrees, giving you an experience similar to driving a car on a muddy surface. The challenge costs $75 (about Shs202, 500) per person and is just as memorable.

Bungee jumping

As one marvels about the country’s great wonders on the Nile, the guides take you to another exciting activity – the Nile high bungee jumping at a fee of Shs $115 (about Shs310, 500). Here, one is taken to the Nile High Tower which is about 44 metres high, to free fall to the bottom while you are attached to an elastic rope, which lets you hover above the water before rebounding high above the river and back.

Mr. Gav Fahey, the Adrift Director says the challenge is 100 per cent safe and the tower is therefore built with this in mind.

“Because our tower has been built and operated to such high specifications, jumpers are much more likely to get injured on the road travel from or back to Kampala [than on the tower],” he quips.

Lodging

After burning up all that energy with the jet race, bungee jumping and water rafting, a guest is given different meals of his/her choice at the Wild Waters Lodges. The beautiful scenery at the lodges and rare setting provides another experience at $250 (about Shs 675,000) for a night.

Although each adventure has its own price tag, you can take the challenge of doing all of them in one day and leave Jinja believing that Uganda really is the pearl of Africa.

Kidepo National Park Uganda’s best park for Uganda wildlife tours

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This follows the listing of Kidepo National Park in north eastern Uganda as one of the 10 best parks in Africa by CNN Travel, a US television of global repute.
According to the publication, Africa is regarded as a destination for safari, but Kidepo Valley National Park, covering 1,442 square kilometers is one of the top 10 parks where travelers can find the most outstanding trips.
Kidepo was rated highly by the CNN Travel for its spectacular landscapes and great buffalo herds. “With sprawling savannah and soaring mountains, Kidepo National Park might be the most picturesque park in Africa,” stated the publication.
This comes hot on the heels of another landmark rating of Uganda as one of the top 10 tourism destination globally in the year 2013 by the National Geographic. The National Geographic is an international travel channel affiliated to the National Geographic Society. Also, the Lonely Planet, a travel magazine, rated Uganda as the best travel destination for 2012.
Lillian Nsubuga, the public relations manager of the Uganda Wildlife Authority, told New Vision that the accolades lavished on Uganda shows the richness of the country.
A herd of buffaloes in Kidepo Valley national park
But she pointed out inadequate infrastructure, particularly roads that are undermining exploitation of places like Kidepo. “Foreigners who have been to Kidepo rate it highly because it is one place that gives you value for money,” she said, adding that poaching by the Toposa, a tribe from South Sudan, remains a challenge.
Sharing borders with South Sudan and Kenya, Kidepo is Uganda’s most beautiful, remote and least-explored park, according to the publication. Regarded as a hard-to-reach place in northern Uganda because of the poor state of the roads, Kidepo gets fewer visitors than any other grassland park in Uganda.
“Those who take the trouble to get here are rewarded with phenomenal wildlife sightings and a level of exclusivity that can rarely be got at any cost in neighboring countries,” stated CNN Travel.
“Kidepo Valley Park landscapes are never ending and simply take your breath away - and a stillness only broken by the cry from the wild,” stated a source who has visited. “The sounds of the winds sweeping through the valley, you are amazed that such a place as Kidepo Valley Park even exists.”
He added: “There is an abundance of wildlife, stunning scenery and an absence of people with no caravans of vehicles meandering down the game tracks.” Apart from huge herds of buffaloes, Kidepo is also endowed with lions, elephants, giraffes, leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs, ostriches, stripped hyenas and hunting dogs.
Others are antelopes such as eland, bush buck, bush duskier, defassa water buck, bohor reed buck, Jackson’s hartebeest and oribi. In addition to the ostriches, it also has plenty of bird life.