The Uganda Wildlife Authority’s (UWA) Honorary Wildlife Officers have successfully concluded a multi-day familiarization tour of the Murchison Falls Conservation Area (MFCA), aimed at strengthening collaboration, improving field awareness, and addressing key conservation and community-related challenges.The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), through its Problem Animal Control Unit (PACU), has successfully carried out a critical wildlife management operation on Kyamuswa Island in Kalangala District, aimed at safeguarding human life while ensuring the continued conservation of dangerous wildlife species.
Honorary Wildlife Officers Conclude Field Tour of Murchison Falls Conservation Area
The Uganda Wildlife Authority’s (UWA) Honorary Wildlife Officers have successfully concluded a multi-day familiarization tour of the Murchison Falls Conservation Area (MFCA), aimed at strengthening collaboration, improving field awareness, and addressing key conservation and community-related challenges.
The four-day field visit was led by Capt. Emily Otekati and brought together Honorary Wildlife Officers and UWA field staff for in-depth engagement across several critical conservation sites within the park. The tour began at the Joint Operations and Command Centre in Mubako, where officers were briefed on ongoing anti-poaching operations and visited the snare store, highlighting the scale of illegal hunting threats still facing wildlife in the region.
During discussions with rangers and operational staff, several concerns were raised. These included calls for tax exemptions to support conservation work, stronger engagement with political leaders in the fight against poaching, and the need for courts to impose more deterrent penalties on offenders. Rangers expressed concern that assigning community service alone in some poaching cases undermines enforcement efforts and fails to discourage repeat offenses.
The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), through its Problem Animal Control Unit (PACU), has successfully carried out a critical wildlife management operation on Kyamuswa
The officers later inspected the electric fence near Mubako, a key human–wildlife conflict mitigation measure designed to prevent elephants and other large mammals from straying into surrounding communities. The visit provided firsthand insight into the challenges of maintaining such infrastructure and its importance in protecting both people and wildlife.
Community outreach formed a major component of the tour. The Honorary Wildlife Officers participated in a live radio program on 100.2 Packwach FM, where human–wildlife conflict, coexistence strategies, and revenue-sharing mechanisms were discussed. Callers raised concerns about compensation procedures following wildlife-related crop and property damage, and requested clearer guidance on park boundaries to reduce conflicts with wildlife authorities.
As part of the broader assessment of activities within the conservation area, the third day of the tour included a visit to oil production and extraction sites operated by TotalEnergies inside the park. The officers evaluated how infrastructure development is being integrated into the protected area and examined measures in place to minimize environmental impact.
The tour concluded with a high-level meeting in Buliisa District involving the Resident District Commissioner (RDC), the LC5 Chairperson, and local political leaders. Discussions focused on policy support for conservation, improving wildlife compensation frameworks, and strengthening collaborative governance between UWA, local government, and surrounding communities.
