Bwindi Gorilla Tourism Back on Track
11/11/99
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Bwindi Gorilla Tourism Back on Track
Source: New Vision. Distributed via Africa News Online.
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: November 11, 1999
Byline: Alfred Wasike
Kampala (New Vision, November 11, 1999) - The number of tourists
visiting Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP) for the rare
mountain gorilla tracking has increased due to the tight security set
up by the army.
The breath-taking Bwindi covering 331.8 square kilometres is home to
half of the world's population (about 300) of the rare Mountain
Gorillas.
Another gorilla home, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park to the south
bordering with Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo covers
about 25 square kilometers. Both national parks, established in 1991
are world famous habitats for the rare Mountain Gorilla.
The former Rwanda army militia, the Interahamwe on March 1 this year
attacked the park headquarters. Eight tourists from England, New
Zealand and the United States were herded from several camps at the
park's headquarters at about 6.30 am by the Interahamwe and later
massacred in the thick forest. A Ugandan, John Ross Wagaba, warden in
charge of community conservation was also killed.
Statistics emerging from the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) indicate
that "business is picking up very fast" in the national park which
borders with the Democratic Republic of Congo, in south-western
Uganda.
The UWA Executive Director, Dr Robbie Robinson recently revealed that
the number of visitors to BINP has risen from 85 in April to 193 in
September, 1999.
The Second Deputy Premier and Tourism Trade and Industry Minister
Moses Ali has called for more tourists to visit the park "since it is
now safe after Government has put in place the necessary security and
other infrastructure". Ali appealed to the media "not to be
sensational but support tourism because it is a delicate but
lucrative industry".
Robinson said some of the security measures taken by Government which
have restored tourist confidence include:
* Deployment of additional security personnel in and around the park.
* Joint guarding of tourist facilities and infrastructure by well-
trained rangers and the UPDF.
* Establishment of a mobile strike force which cordons off and
searches any place suspected to be insecure.
* Having regular contacts with the security officers along the
Uganda/Congo border to share security information and coordinate
patrol operations.
* Putting in place an additional trail to ease accessibility of the
joint strike force to the Congo border.
* Improving radio communication links between other security units
and park management in Bwindi.
* Regular briefings between the UWA headquarters and the parks on the
security situation.
* Local community support in maintaining security has been enlisted,
as they are also beneficiaries of the tourism industry through
revenue sharing with the stakeholders.
* Rangers in protected areas affected by terrorism (Bwindi inclusive)
have been trained for a month in anti-terrorism and other para-
military techniques in Egypt.
* Government has stepped up its publicity both locally and abroad to
ensure that the public visiting Bwindi know it is safe.
* To reassure both the local and international community, some high
profile personalities have taken gorilla tracking in Bwindi including
the US Ambassador to Uganda.
* Some donations including radio sets (walkie-talkies), sleeping
bags, 4WD vehicles from international agencies have been received to
assist in operations and security.
Rwanda has also reopened the Parc National de Volcanes (July 15,
1999) and is now guiding tourists to see mountain gorillas.
According to the Uganda Tourist Board, Rwanda "has worked very hard
over the past months, using the same methodology of creating an
effective intelligence network, with evident results.
Similar measures have been taken in the Parc National de Virunga, in
the eastern Congo, to systematically round up itinerant military
groups the one, which attacked Bwindi. That ever diminishing 'front
line' moves further west every day", UTB says in its September 1999
newsletter, Uganda Tracks.
As a result of the measures taken, tourist's numbers have steadily
increased as shown in the following statistics compiled by the UWA.
See graphic above. Robinson attributed the drop in September and
October as "nothing to worry about because the number of the visitors
simply went down." BINP is a primeval forest with 120 species.