Collaboration and coordination are central to achieving CWC outcomes, but experience shows that these are easier said than done. In practice, subtle competition and silo-centric tendencies of the [supposedly] like-minded players create invisible barriers to effective collaboration and coordination. This year, the CWC activity broke these barriers. It demonstrated the power of partnerships in achieving common counter-wildlife crime outcomes in the newly launched community awareness and sensitisation campaign. The campaign, aimed at increasing awareness and appreciation of the benefits of wildlife, the impacts of wildlife crime, and the role of non-state actors in combating wildlife crime in the communities around MFCA, attracted the participation of four other organizations and agencies, namely, Uganda Wildlife Authority, Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre, Wildlife Clubs of Uganda and WildAid to deliver an effective campaign.
Consequently, with a limited budget secured when the activity pivoted to increase engagements with non-state actors, the activity leveraged financial, human, and material resources from the partners. All of them contributed valuable staff time and committed qualified staff to support the campaign, and UWEC offered a film track free of charge.
With this strong partnership and commitment, the campaign reached 25,882 people around Murchison Falls Conservation Area, including the park-adjacent communities of Pakwach, Kiryandongo, Nebbi and Buliisa districts, through road shows, community dialogue meetings and school outreaches.
The overwhelming testimonies and feedback from the communities were evidence that the campaign was a great success. For example, in Karuma Town Council, one of the community members, Adogo Santos, had this to say.
“As much as we stay close to the wildlife reserve and know that entering the park is prohibited, we did not know it is a law. The Wildlife Act provisions that transporting, injuring, or killing a protected animal even on community land was a crime is news that we learned from watching the videos and talking to the team. I am delighted that the park authorities are massively disseminating this information, so we are not caught on the wrong side of the law”.
In Wanseko, Paraketo and Panyimur communities, testimonies of women using fish mongering and illegal firewood gathering to hide wildlife products showcased the impact of neutral parties in enlisting community support for conservation. Other confessions included admitting to consuming wild meat and transporting illegal wildlife products on motorcycles by the participants who did not bother to examine the consignments before transportation carefully.
With this initiative progressing through FY2025, the activity hopes to continue documenting testimonies and the campaign's impact on attitudes and perceptions toward wildlife crime. Thanks to the American People!