Uganda’s tourism industry relies heavily on wildlife and natural resources that face enormous threats, including illegal wildlife trade (IWT) — a multi-billion-dollar criminal industry and a transnational threat— that is undermining Uganda’s tourism revenue earning and national security.
United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/Uganda Combating Wildlife Crime (CWC) is a five-year activity (2020 - 2025) implemented by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in partnership with African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), Natural Resources Conservation Network (NRCN) and The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). The goal of the activity is to reduce wildlife crime in Uganda by strengthening the capacity of CWC institutions to detect, deter and prosecute wildlife offenders through close collaborations with security and law enforcement agencies, USAID implementing partners working on related issues, private sector companies, and communities living adjacent to protected areas.
Conservation Challenges
Since 2010, Uganda has registered an upsurge in wildlife product trafficking, undermining Uganda’s tourism revenue earning and national security. As a historical trading hub in East Africa, Uganda’s porous borders, weak law enforcement, penalties, and limited capacity to combat wildlife crime (CWC) have attracted trade in wildlife products from Central, West, and East Africa routes to Asia. The major impediment to combating IWT in Uganda is the lack of capacity within the Uganda government. This is exacerbated by the lack of or limited coordination between law enforcement agencies to tackle wildlife trafficking. In addition, corruption in Uganda continues to weaken law enforcement efforts. As a result, Uganda remains a major trafficking route for ivory and other wildlife products originating from the Democratic Republic of Congo, West Africa and Southern Africa. Recently, transit countries—particularly Uganda—were recognized as eluders of most illegal wildlife trade investigations.
Conservation Approach
To successfully tackle poaching and the illegal wildlife trade in Uganda, CWC stakeholders need to move beyond law enforcement to strengthen interagency collaboration, cooperation and coordination, strengthen law enforcement and judicial systems, develop best practice anti-poaching strategies involving communities in the management of wildlife resources, take action against wildlife crime, and combat corruption.
Activities
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is supporting the National Wildlife Crime Coordination Task Force (NWCCTF) — formed in May 2018 by the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife, and Antiquities (MTWA), with support from WCS — to promote cooperation and coordination among security agencies, law enforcement bodies, and other relevant government institutions in combating wildlife crime in Uganda. In partnership with African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), WCS has increased the capacity of Uganda Wildlife Authority’s Canine Unit to operate at known smuggling routes, including border posts. WCS is strengthening judicial, prosecutorial, and investigative sectors to fight against wildlife crime in partnership with Natural Resource Conservation Network (NRCN). WCS is also collaborating with The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) to build the capacity of IWT and CWC national and regional wildlife crime institutions and networks to coordinate and share intelligence information with the National Wildlife Crime Coordination Taskforce (NWCCTF) to facilitate combating of wildlife crime in Uganda.
Achievements
Publications
Event Presentations
Africa Regional Forum on Combating Wildlife Crime held in Kampala-Uganda | Date: February 8-9, 2022
In the News
The Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife, and Antiquities launched an online Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Electronic permit system to regulate the trade in wildlife READ THE STORY
Detective Sergeant Kabarangira Mann is a commander of the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) Canine Unit, where he has been working since 2016. In late March 2021, Sergeant Mann participated in an operation supported by African Wildlife FoundationREAD THE STORY
The United States Ambassador to Uganda, Her Excellency Natalie Brown and her delegation visited the USAID/UgandaREAD THE STORY
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