UGANDA Beats Rest of Africa to become the 2015 Zone V1 Africa Golf Champions

Team Uganda has won the annual golf championships in style taking six games in the last singles action round to edge record champions South Africa by a point to clinch their maiden title.

(New Vision Photo BY MICHAEL NSUBUGA) Uganda celebrates victory at the Africa Zone 6 tournament they hosted.

The Ugandans become the third country to win Africa's premier golfing event behind South Africa and Kenya who won in 2010.Team Uganda captain Adolf Muhumuza opened the way for the Ugandan team after dispatching Kenyan Nelson Simwa (3&2) -3 up in the first match of the day before Happy Robert and Ronnie Bukenya won their games against Swaziland and Botswana opponents.

Henry Lujja and Lawrence Muhenda won their games against Malawi's Charles Kambalame (5&4) and Zambia's Simfukwe (1UP) respectively before Martin Ochaya sealed the deal against Namibia's Gabriel Shikodi (5&3)-5up.

Ronalt Otile and Robert Oluba were not lucky losing to"Our strategy was to play a regulation game because of the grown roughs; I have to say it now, because that is what our coach advised and I'm happy it has worked for us.

We are extremely happy for making our country proud," team captain Adolf Muhumuza said as he led team mates into celebrations.

Final standings - Uganda 18.5pts; South Africa 17.5; Zimbabwe 16.5; Kenya 15.5; Zambia 9.5; Swaziland 9.5; Botswana 8.5; Malawi 7.5; Namibia 5;

UGANDA MINISTRY ESTABLISHES TOURISM STOPOVERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY

Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities is setting up tourism stopovers to provide uniform information about the country. The centres will provide washrooms and information board about a particular region and centres of attraction in that region.

The process includes profiling the area and providing all the necessary tourism information to the tourists.Four centres are already running. They are; Muko along the Kabale-Kisoro highway, Kafu in Masindi off Gulu highway, Corner Kamdin in Oyam district and Busitema.

Jimmy Kigozi, a Senior Tourism Officer at the Ministry of Tourism, says the plan so far has four stopovers. He says they have so far profiled Muko and Kafu, and plan to profile Corner Kamdin and Busitema soon. Other sites will be profiled in due course.

The setup will be jointly monitored by officials from the Tourism Development department of the Tourism Ministry as well as physical planners from the Ministry of Lands.

Uganda National Museum–A Forgotten Rich Cultural heritage?

The museum, which occupies 3.359 hectares (approximately 13 acres), located on Plot 5, Kira road in Kamwokya, is in dire need of a facelift. Although it is evident that the exterior recently got a fresh brush of paint, a number of things need to be fixed. For instance, the benches in the garden are dilapidated, while the parking yard needs to be widened and repaved.

The museum was founded in 1908 and has exhibits and artifacts of traditional culture, archeology, history and science. It has various interesting sections riddled with artifacts that bring to life the different historical aspects of our society. For instance, in the Stone Age section, one is able to observe physical tools used by Stone Age people. These tools include stones, bones and wood used for cutting, scrapping and chipping, and how they evolved into the modern tools that Ugandans use today, or used in the recent past.

One is also able to see how we evolved from our ancestors, from the pre-historic period through the history of apes and how they evolved into humans. The story is told by the displayed pictures, as well as real tools and bones or skulls that make the history we learn in school seem more real.

Uganda’s multicultural and colourful past comes alive as one tours the History and Iron Age displays depicting the traditional ways of life in different kingdoms, tribes and communities of Uganda. Here one finds striking displays of traditional clothing (mostly bark cloth and animal skin), headdress, hairdressing, as well as hunting, the history of transportation, fishing, agriculture, war, religion, and how our ancestors spent their free time (traditional recreation).

Also of interest is the display that describes how justice was dispensed in Uganda many years ago. With no penal code, police force or criminal investigations department as they exist today, how did people in earlier days know/prove who had committed which crime and what punishment fitted him/her? One would be able to learn that the Madi and Lugbara used divine pots to assess the innocence of the accused.

However, despite this rich cultural heritage value, government believes that the museum has become a liability, having failed to generate any meaningful revenue. A trade centre in the same place, government feels, would perform much better. Yet government must also take part of the blame, having continually underfunded the museum. For instance, for the 2011/2012 financial year, it was allocated a mere Shs 50 million, money that certainly is not enough to meet its needs.

Over the years, the management of the museum has tried to come up with innovative ways to circumvent the funding crisis. It has, for instance, leased part of its land to the Uganda Wildlife Authority, which has established offices and to private developers like Ibamba restaurant. However, sources told us that the museum has no direct control over the resources generated from these ventures.

Management also introduced entry charges to boost the facility’s income. Until the early 2000s, Ugandans visiting the museum were not charged but, today, adults pay Shs 1,000 to enter and children, Shs 500. The entry fees for foreigners are Shs 3,000 for adults and Shs 1,500 for children. Visitors carrying still and video cameras pay an additional Shs 5,000 and Shs 20,000 respectively.

NEW WATER VESSEL PLYS BETWEEN ENTEBBE AND KALANGALA

Uganda Tour operators and tourists can now heave a sigh of relief after the introduction of MV-MOSES which is to provide transport to Kalangala ssese islands from nakiwogo Entebbe as the MV Kalangala undergoes a total overhaul in Mwanza.

According to a reliable source, each person boarding is charged Uganda Shillings 15000. The departure time from Entebbe time: 10:00am
Arrival time at ssese islands. 12:00.
Departure time from Ssese Islands: 3:00pm
Arrival time at Entebbe. 5:00pm.

OIL ACTIVITIES NOT INTERFERING WITH WILDLIFE

The UWA Executive Director Andrew Seguya has said that oil activities are not interfering with wildlife in the Albertine graben.

This is contrary to the information from other UWA officials who say that the activities going on in the Albertine have greatly affected wildlife in the area.

The officials in their presentations at two different foras said that there has been death of animals due to poisonous chemicals used during drilling which have found their way into the ground and into the water drank by the animals.

The officials also said that the ongoing activities have greatly restricted their movements in the national parks adding that the noise and vibrations of machines is greatly affecting them.
But Seguya says that those activities are no different from the other usual activities carried out by the park rangers or the noise made by tourists’ trucks in the protected areas. He said that there were challenges even before commencement of oil activities but what matters is how the challenges are handled.

He says that an oil unit has been set up in the strategic plan running from 2013-2018 to principally devise mitigation measures that need to be taken.
He added that rangers have been trained and deployed where exploration and drilling is taking place. A 24 hour team which is composed of UWA staff, staff from the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) and staff from the Petroleum Exploration and Exploration Department is responsible.

He said that he is confident that the challenges will be resolved because the oil companies are doing their part responsibly and that he is satisfied with their response.
In their presentations the, officials said that oil companies pay these rangers subsequently making it challenging for them to supervise their bosses.
But Seguya denied that the oil companies pay rangers. He said that what they do is pay UWA for the services it renders to them which he says is a basic principal of conservation called the polluter pays principle.
But the Projects Manager for Energy and Climate Change at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)Robert Damulira says the impacts are now minimal and can probably be contained. But he doubts UWA’s competence in mitigating the medium term and long term impacts.

Damulira told our correspondent that the government and UWA in particular need to strengthen their policies and put some places in that region strictly off limits. He said for example the Albert-Nile Delta which is important to animals for mainly water need to be demarcated as off limits adding that he hopes that UWA and government will not be deceived by oil money to destroy Uganda’s important sector.
70 percent of the countries Protected Areas are in the Albertine and 50 percent of the oil wells lie with in these Protected Areas.

NEW UGANDA WILDLIFE ACT REVIEW

The proposed Wildlife Act amendments currently before the Uganda cabinet are aimed at streamlining the operations of the oil exploration in line with the wildlife existence and environmental conservation.

The review which has been carried out by Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities in consultation with Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) and environmentalists aims to bridge the loopholes in the current act which among others offered lenient punishment for poachers.

The current act was also enacted before the discovery of oil and did not address the issues of exploration and disturbances to the wildlife, particularly in the Albertine Region.

Barirega Akankwasah, the Principal Wildlife Officer at Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquity since oil plays a big role in the economy of any country, they cannot say exploration must not take place in the protected areas. Though he did not mention any specific proposals, Akankwasah says what the amendment will provide is an environment where the two can mutually exist.

He says the National Environment Act provides for environment impact assessment before engaging in any exploration. He says the there is also provision for the same in the current wildlife act. He says NEMA will come up with a broader impact assessment for oil and other sectors. He says this will ensure that both animals and oil activities can coexist.

Mountain Gorillas Aside, Why Does Earth need Bwindi so badly?

 

by Ivan Wassaaka

 

What else is there in Bwindi apart from mountain Gorillas? What else can one do in Bwindi apart from tracking mountain gorillas; why is Bwindi an IUCN World Heritage site?

 

L-Hoerst Monkeys, 1 of the 12 primates in Bwindi

With an ever growing importance now being attached to tourism development in East Africa, each country is trying to find a niche tourist attraction where they have competitive advantage over the other.

In Uganda, the endangered mountain gorilla is the flag bearing attraction. Thousands of tourists (largely foreigners) come to Uganda every year for tours to track (or trek) these mountain gorillas.

 

Almost a half of the remaining 780 mountain gorillas on earth inhabit the impenetrable Bwindi National Park, the rest being scattered in the Viungas (shared by Rwanda, Uganda and DRC). This makes Bwindi a very important region for tours in Uganda. Almost the entire Uganda tourism industry has a bearing with Bwindi. Tourists who come for gorilla tours frequently end up visiting other national parks in Uganda as well.

 

This brings us to the question, Besides the mountain gorillas, what’s so special with Bwindi to the extent that the IUCN declared is a World Heritage Site?

 
Bwindi is characterized by steep hills and narrow valleys with a general incline from the north and west to the south-western corner. Together with some remnant lowland forest outside the boundary, the park constitutes an important water catchment area serving the surrounding densely populated agricultural land.

With an area of 32,092ha and an altitudinal range of 1,I 90-2,607m, Bwindi is one of the few large expanses of forest in East Africa where lowland and montane vegetation communities meet. Combined with its probable role as a Pleistocene refuge, the forest hosts an extremely high biodiversity.

 

Bwindi is the most diverse forest in East Africa for tree species (more than 163 species) and ferns (more than 104 species), as well as other taxa. The trees account for 38% of the total recorded for the country and include 10 species not found elsewhere. A further 16 species have only a very restricted distribution in south-west Uganda, and one species, Lovoa swynnertonii, is globally threatened .

 

Bwindi has one of the richest animal-life communities in East Africa, including over 214 species of forest bird (> 65% of the Uganda’s total), 7 species of diurnal primate (58% of the country’s total), and 202 species of butterfly (84% of the country’s total).

Highly significant is the presence of almost one half (380 of about 780) of the world’s population of mountain gorillas.

Endagered Mountain Gorillas of Bwindi

Bwindi is also an important locality for the conservation of Afromontane fauna, in particular those endemic to the mountains of the western rift valley. At least 70 of the 78 montane forest bird species occurring in the Albertine Rift region are found in the forest, including 22 of the 27 endemics.

 

In the case of butterflies, 8 Albertine Rift endemics are known to occur in the forest, which may be the most important in Africa for the conservation of montane butterflies.

Overall, Bwindi contains 9 globally threatened species: mountain gorilla, common chimpanzee, I’hoests monkey, African elephant, African green broadbill, Grauer’s rush warbler, Chaplin’s flycatcher,African giant swallowtail and cream-banded swallowtail.

Black and White Colobus monkeys in Bwindi

 

Next week we shall discuss the greatest importance of all, cultural significance of Bwindi. Stay tuned!

 

Do you still have any doubts to the strong importance of Bwindi to this earth or Uganda in particular? Share it with us. Of course this is not a conclusive text of Bwindi’s significance. Feel free to share your thoughts, this will certainly further the conservation efforts.

 

Do you want to visit Bwindi? Click here and take advantage of these amazingly huge seasonal discount offers




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How safe is Uganda for Tourists?

 How safe is Uganda for Tourists?

Uganda is generally considered to be a safe, stable country with low crime rates. The Sudan border region and the Karamoja in the north should be avoided (with exception of Kidepo Valley National Park).

Use common sense in the cities – do not carry large amounts of cash or valuables, and keep money and credit cards in an inside pocket.

World Wild Fund (WWF) Boosts Conservation of Rwenzori Mountains National Park

The World Wild Fund (WWF), under its Rwenzori Mountains Conservation and Environment Management Project, has devised several approaches to minimise degradation of the park.

Mr David Duli, the country director WWF, an international conservation NGO, said the park is of great importance to the world because of its botany and beauty and therefore requires expertise to strengthen its conservation.

“We came up with the project in order to strengthen the conservation of the Rwenzori Mountains ecosystem and maintain its biodiversity and water catchment values in harmony with sustainable utilisation of resources for the benefit of Uganda and the international community” Mr Duli said. He noted that conservation efforts are helping the park to regenerate. The park covers the Rwenzori Mountain catchment area which, among others, includes Mubuku, Nyamwamba, Mpanga, Semliki rivers that flow from the mountain.

Rwenzori Mountains National Park is located in southwestern Uganda on the east side of the  Albertine rift valley. It is along the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), just above the equator. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is situated in the Bundibugyo, Kabarole, and Kasese districts, 25 km from the small town of Kasese. The park has area of 996 km2, 70% of which is above 2,500 m.

The park comprises most of the centre and eastern half of the Rwenzori Mountains. The ice-capped Rwenzori Mountains are even higher than the Alps. Margherita Peak, one of Mount Stanley's twin summits is Africa's third highest peak at 5,109 m. Africa's fourth and fifth highest peaks (Mount Speke and Mount Baker) are also located in the park. The park has glaciers, snowfields, waterfalls, and lakes and is one of Africa's most beautiful mountain region.

Biodiversity is extraordinarily high with 17 regionally endemic birds and 12 regionally endemic mammals. The elephant, common chimpanzee and l'hoests monkey are globally threatened species (IUCN 1994b). The park is noted for its remarkable plants, which has been described as some of the most beautiful in the world (Riley, Laura; William Riley (2005). Nature's Strongholds: The World's Great Wildlife Reserves).

The broken montane forest dominated by Sybmphonia globulifera, Prunus, Yoshania alpina, Albizia spp. and Dombeya spp. occurs at about 2400 m. 199 tree species (18% of the country's total) have so far been recorded in this zone . Next is the bamboo (Arundinaria alpina) forest up to an altitude of 3000 m, a heather zone dominated by giant heathers such as Phillpia trimera and small trees such as Hagenia and Rapanea, frequently over 10 m in height up to 3800 m, and afro-alpine moorland that ends at the snowline at 4400 m.
There are five distinct vegetation zones in the park, which change with altitude. Most significant are the giant heathers, groundsels, ericas and lobelias of the tree heath and alpine zones.

The park has 241 species of birds (27% of the country's total), 78 species of butterfly, and four primate species.

 

The Kasese District natural resource officer, Mr Joseph Kitswera, said there has been a reduction in soil erosion and landslides. “Bare hills were restored which has reduced soil erosion, landslides and siltation in our rivers,” Mr Kitswera said.

He said conservation of the park will improve tourism in the Rwenzori region. More than a million trees have been planted on degraded hills in the Park covering more than 1,000 hectares of the protected area.

The Minister of Tourism, Ms Maria Mutagamba, who visited the park recently, said degradation in the parks is reducing.

“Much as the culture still remains, the problem has come down compared to the past when it was very rampant,” she said.

One hundred and two mammals species were recorded in the park. The Rwenzori duiker Cephalophus rubidus is found nowhere in the world and the Rwenzori otter shrew Micropotamogale rwenzorii is only known from here and Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda. The park has elephant, giant forest hog, sitatunga in small numbers and buffaloes, which had once disappeared, have re-appeared. Hyrax and leopard also occur in  the park as well as four species of diurnal primate: the common chimpanzee (curently estimated 500 indiviuals, Plumptre et al 2003a) found in the lower altitude forest areas, a sub-speceis of Agolan colobus (colobus angolensis ruwenzorii), the Rwenzori colobus, restricted to this park, L'Hoests monkey and the blue monkey 

Because of its physical and biological values, the park was recognized as a World Heritage Site in 1994. Among rare reptiles, the strange-nosed chameleon Bradypodion xenorhinum is endemic to the Rwenzoris.

Indifference among States Puts Single East Africa Community Tourist visa Plans in Balance

PLANS to have an East African Community (EAC) single tourist visa remain in balance as some partner states show signs of indifference with regard to adopting common policies necessary to spearhead the project.

Although it was initially envisaged as a fundamental initiative that would help attract more foreign earnings through increased tourists, some member countries seem to be dragging their feet in implementation.

Rica Rwigamba, in charge of Tourism and Conservation at the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), could not tell exactly when the regional visa will start operating.
She said that delays by other member countries have derailed progress.
“Everybody would want to have it but there are some pre-requisite factors, especially harmonising immigration policies and ICT to help ease the process. We are pushing it but we realised it requires a lot of consultations because we need to be at the same level,” she said.

Rwigamba explained that while Rwanda had made significant strides in use of ICT, there was need for the rest of the EAC partner states to move at the same pace if the trading bloc is to become a single tourist destination.

Initially, the single tourist visa had been planned to be operational by July 2012.

For instance, coming to Rwanda, one can apply for a visa online and get it, a facility that can hardly be found in other member states.

It is expected that the projected single visa would save potential tourists time and the rigorous process of having to jump from one embassy to the other to apply for different visas to travel across the East African region.

“Today travelers want to have a much wider menu. And it is easier to market the block as a single destination as opposed to one country. It means having features like the Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda, Maasai Mara in Kenya, Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, among others, all on one menu,” she said.

The long procedures in acquiring visa by tourists, especially those from Europe, the Americas sometimes discourages them, forcing them to divert to other destinations.

The EAC Sectoral Council on Tourism and Wildlife Management has called on partner states to fast-track the introduction of the single EAC tourist visa, saying the process was taking unnecessarily too long.
The move to have the single EAC visa followed an appeal by tourism boards of the five partner states requesting for a common visa to accelerate promotion of the region as a single tourist destination.

Rwigamba, however, says that they expect to have hold negotiations at the ministerial level starting next year during which they will assess the recommendations and determine a way forward.

Tourism in east Africa is among the highest earners in terms of investments, with enormous employment opportunities.
In Rwanda, from January to September 2012 tourism is estimated to have generated US$210.5 million, compared to US$184.4 million it generated during the same period in 2011 – that represents an increase of 14 per cent.
The number of tourists from EAC member states and Democratic Republic of Congo also increased from 498,617 to 639,536.

The majority of the international tourists came from the United States of America, United Kingdom, Belgium and Germany, according to official figures.

Shs50,000 spot fine for littering Entebbe

 

Authorities at Entebbe Municipal Council, where Uganda’s only international airport is located have introduced definite penalties against people found littering garbage as a measure to step up cleanliness in the town. The new penalty, that would include paying Shs50,000, according to Entebbe Mayor Vincent Kayanja, has been embedded in a new bylaw that came into force yesterday.

“A person found littering garbage from today will pay a definite penalty of Shs50,0000 where the whistleblower would part with Shs25,000 and the municipal enforcers and police who implement the law would share the remaining Shs25,000,” Mr. Kayanja said while officiating at the ‘Youth New Year Gala’ that saw residents competing in football, bicycle racing, ludo and boxing on Monday.

Mr Kayanja said Entebbe Municipality spends a lot of money on cleaning roads at the expense of a few negligent people who liter garbage. The Municipal Council spends at least Shs82m on collecting garbage per year.

Division A chairman David Wasswa Kasule said the new measure would reduce the costs on garbage collection.
This is not the first city or town to introduce a bylaw against littering. Kampala Central Division also has a bylaw where people are fined Shs50,000 on being caught littering the city.

Entebbe is also a popular night stop of several tourists and foreign visitors. Popular places of tourist interest in Entebbe include the Uganda Wildlife Education Center (Uganda's only zoo), the botanical gardens, several beach resorts, and a snake park.

Uganda’s Nyero rock paintings threatened by Weather and Vandalism

Future generations risk losing Nyero Rock, a tourist destination in Ngora District, to vandalism and adverse weather conditions that have ruined the archeological paintings.
The three-tiered rock shelter, famous for its ancient paintings on its inner surfaces, is believed to date as far back as the Iron Age.

Ms Rose Ntale Mwanja, the commissioner of museums and monuments in the Ministry of Tourism, said the fading of the paintings was because of exposure to ultraviolet rays from sunlight and rainfall.
These form algae around the paintings, a process the government has tried to stop for a while but cannot because of the rules governing the preservation of the monuments.

“We tried to put cement to stop rain water from dripping onto the paintings at the two sites but we are now consulting with somebody to see if we can work without the cement,” Ms Mwanja said by telephone yesterday.
However, she said the site at Obuin in Soroti District was still intact because it is in a dark room, adding that the government had discovered another 56 paintings in the region.

“We have discovered other sites in Mukongoro, Komuge Kakoro, Kapir, Paliisa and idolwe Island in Namayingo District, which we have proposed to the United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organisation (Unesco) to be listed as world heritage sites as we embark on developing our rock art trail,” she said.
When contacted for a comment, both Ms Agnes Akiror, the State Minister for Tourism and Mr Augustine Omare Okurut, the secretary general of Unesco, confirmed the developments.

“We are trying to educate the communities to appreciate these natural sites to conserve them for tourism and encourage our own children to invest and develop them,” Ms Akiror said. “I brought this to the attention of Kumi District local administration sometime back but I do not think they took it seriously,” Mr Omare said.
He said so far, Uganda has only the Kasubi Tombs, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Mt. Rwenzori among the world heritage sites.

sotage@ug.nationmedia.com

ENTEBBE AIRSHOW SET FOR DECEMBER 15/16 (written by ETN)

Uganda’s Civil Aviation Authority is partnering to put together a show case aviation event on the weekend of December 15th and 16th, bringing together the aviation industry to give Ugandans a hands on experience.

Air Uganda has already offered to fly disabled children on a special flight on their MD 87 aircraft while the general aviation community from Kajjansi, the Kampala Aero Club, MAF aka Mission Aviation Fellowship and Ndege Juu will join hands with their colleagues from Entebbe such as Eagle Air and AirServ.

Also on board is the Uganda People’s Defence Forces Air Force and the East African Civil Aviation Academy from Soroti, the latter probably also doing a spot or two of career guidance when talking about the courses available at what is often referred to as the Flying School.

Capt. Howard Davenport from the Kampala Aero Club will be performing some of his stunning aerial aerobics displays while other aircraft like air force Sukois and a C130 will be doing fly pasts and low overflights to thrill the crowds, while sky divers will aim to hit the centre point on the ground as they come circling down from the skies above.

This is the second such airshow this year after the Kampala Aero Club, on a smaller and invitation only basis, celebrated their 15th anniversary at the Kajjansi airfield, drawing hundreds of spectators to the perimeter fence, but this time it is an open for all event at the Entebbe International Airport, celebrating not just 50 years of Uganda’s Independence but also 50 years of post independence aviation in the Pearl of Africa.

Source - ETN

Lonely Planet names Uganda ‘THE 2013 BIRD-WATCHING DESTINATION’

As 2012 is slowly getting ready to hand over to the next year in line a new tagline will take over from the hype of this year, as The Pearl of Africa turned 50 and when the Lonely Planet Guide had named Uganda as their top destination for the year. While measuring the success in terms of numbers and revenues will take a bit longer, until the relevant data have been correlated and published, the country’s tourism industry is nevertheless setting its sights on the future. With over 1.000 bird species found in Uganda, bird watching has brought in growing numbers of hobby ornithologists from around the world but even within has ‘birding’ found new friends.

The Big Bird Watching Day is now an annual event, supported by the Uganda Wildlife Authority which grants free access to the park, and this annual bird count a few weeks ago has underscored once again the rich diversity of birds found, not just in parks but across the entire country. Organized by Nature Uganda and supported by the conservation and tourism fraternities, the event has now been transformed into naming Uganda being named a preferred bird watching destination, an accolade which will undoubtedly raise even more interest from abroad to come here and explore for instance Bwindi Forest, which the Africa Bird Club earlier this year declared the Number One birding site in Africa or in Queen Elizabeth National Park, home to over 600 bird species alone.

Nature Uganda and Birdlife International have mapped out 34 sites across Uganda as important bird watching areas, some inside but many outside the country’s protected areas which makes access possible without any park fees, though such payments of course go to the good use of maintaining park infrastructure.

The Uganda Tourist Board will make bird watching a major promotional activity for 2013 to highlight the country’s rich natural resources beyond being just known as the world’s biggest primate destination or for the adventure tourism attractions Uganda now has to offer.

UWA rescues 42 poisonous snakes and 147 chameleons bound for Czech Republic.

The reptiles were rescued just a few minutes away from being flown out to Czech Republic through Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport. They were found stuffed in one box with markings indicating that they are from a Kampala- based company, SME Breeders – and destined to Frischolz Import and Export company in the Czech Republic. UWA Publicist Lillian Nsubuga revealed that they had been on the lookout for the consignment at Entebbe International airport.

A concerned citizen tipped UWA about some suspicious consignment which they suspected to be drugs. But at the airport when they checked [one of the small bags within the box], they found they were snakes,” Nsubuga narrated.

Surprisingly, the snakes, which had been each separately packed in a white neatly made bag, were lying above 147 chameleons, 55 of which had already died –letting off a foul smell.

“This is a very coordinated crime. The way the box was packed with chameleons down and snakes up shows the level of sophistication and it is unlikely that it was done by a Ugandan,” Nsubuga said.

James Musinguzi, the acting Executive Director of the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (UWEC), where the reptiles are now being kept, says there were eight types of poisonous snakes in the consignment. However, the UWEC chief indicated that they were conversant with only one type – the Jameson Mamba, of which only three snakes were in the consignment.

Musinguzi says the rest of the seven types do not naturally occur in Uganda. The chameleons included the three-horned type, a rare species mainly found on Mt Rwenzori due to their love for cold conditions.

The Uganda Wildlife Act allows individual companies to breed and export wildlife but with clearance from conservation bodies such as UWA and CITES, but SME Breeders have never been cleared for this purpose. Musinguzi said the impounded reptiles will be kept at UWEC for some time to enable the conservation bodies to bring in specialists who will ascertain whether these reptiles are suitable to be released into the wild.

“We will do an assessment to ascertain their lifestyle and types because some of them are exotic and don’t occur here,” Musinguzi said, adding: “We don’t want to introduce species in the parks that will disorganize the ecology.”

The impounding follows another swoop in which UWA captured 13 pieces of ivory in a restaurant in Zana, a suburb along Entebbe road. Yet another 62kg of ivory were also impounded on Monday morning at the airport.