As it was resolved during the courtesy meeting between the officials from GVTC and the authorities of Kisoro District on the 6th of September 2023 at Ikoro Hotel,
On this 7th November 2023, at this same hotel, various stakeholders including the Resident District Commissioners (RDCs), Chairman LCV, the Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs) Internal Security Officers, Army Commanders, Police Commanders, the Wardens from Bwindi Impenetrable National Parc and Mgahinga Gorilla National Parc as well as the Tourism Officers and wildlife conservation Officers from the Districts of Kisoro, Rukungiri, Kabale, Rubanda and Kanungu Districts of Uganda, have met under the facilitation of Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration Executive Secretariat, to discuss issues of Transboundary nature affection wildlife conservation and Tourism development in this region.
Given the interconnectedness of the protected areas in this transboundary region shared between the Republic of Rwanda, the Republic of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, it is important to maintain dialogue in the quest to keep an eye on the issues which can affect the effort for promoting wildlife conservation and tourism development and find solutions before they can get out of hands.
Participants gathered according to the four thematic areas of Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration namely landscape management, tourism development, community conservation and law enforcement, they have identified several challenges and have proposed solutions.
Terrorism and armed groups in the region, illegal entry of the people on the territory of the country, Inadequacy of coordination and intel sharing, wildlife trafficking, smuggling of arms because of the porous borders, human-wildlife conflicts and wildfires and natural disasters are some of the issues identified by the group which worked on law enforcement matters.
For the tourism development group, the lack of regional marketing and branding, poor infrastructures like roads to access some tourism products, delays at the border points to clear tour operators and tourists, lack of standards in tourism products and services, absence of integrated Greater Virunga Landscape map for ease of marketing, insufficient joint tourism exchange programs, are some of the issues they brought out.
The crop raiding mainly in Kisoro and Kanungu, overharvesting of natural resources products like bamboo, delayed interventions on the cases of crop raiding, and bureaucracy not allowing the victims to be compensated which causes the killings of animals instead of waiting the long processes of compensation, Indigenous people who need to be considered to get the living, inadequacy in revenue sharing and in awareness remain the key issues affecting community conservation in this area as it was identified by the group.
The group which discussed the matter regarding landscape management has identified the following issues: encroachment on the protected areas, unclear boundaries causing conflicts, poor land-use practices, lack of gazetted physical plans, Invasive species getting rid of indigenous vegetation, over-exploitation and poor exploitation of natural resources like fishing and mining, uncontrolled movement of birds and animals which can transfer diseases, natural and environmental disasters and hazards, flooding, landslides,…
All the groups have proposed recommendations aiming at solving those issues. The participants appreciated this unique initiative of bringing together various stakeholders, affirming that it allows them to have the same information at the same time, which facilitates the implementation of resolutions.
On the side of the participants, they committed to working hard for wildlife conservation, to lobby for GVTC Treaty ratification as they have witnessed its relevancy.
GVTC has promised to assist in finding solutions to the issues identified, and arrange soon, a regional meeting for the three countries to discuss issues of a transboundary nature which will require the involvement of the other partner states.
“GVTC will spare no effort to support you as it always does to achieve this. It will always continue to ensure the coordination of active stakeholders in this Greater Virunga Landscape to ensure the sustainable conservation of biodiversity in this landscape for the interest of the population and the countries in general”, stated Madam Kabeya Fatuma Marie Rose, Deputy Executive Secretary for Finance and Administration, who represented Dr. Andrew G. Seguya, GVTC Executive Secretary.
