Sh169b large carnivore conservation strategic plan launched

_________________

In September 2023, the New Vision broke a story indicating how the lion population in Uganda had decreased from over 400 individuals (as per 2013 census) to an estimate of 282 in 2023.

The story quoted the latest carnivore census which was carried out in 2022 whose preliminary results were released in May 2023. The tourism ministry later acknowledged that, indeed, the lion population had drastically reduced, hence started mooting for a plan to conserve and repopulate the large carnivores.

Now, tourism minister Col. (rtd) Tom Butime together with the European Union head of delegation Jan Sadek, have launched a 10-year strategic action plan for large carnivore conservation 2024-2034.

A young male lion yawns while resting in the branches of a sycamore fig tree with his sister, during the recent census in Queen Elizabeth National Park. (Credit: Alexander Brackowski)

The action plan was developed by the research and monitoring technical team from the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) led by Aggrey Rwetsiba together with Dr Alex Braczkowski, Dr Nic Elliot, Dr Arjun Gopalaswamy and Dr Tutilo Mudumba among other local, regional and international consultants. It was launched on February 26, 2025, at Protea Hotel in Kampala.

While launching the action plan, minister Butime noted that wildlife is a cornerstone of Uganda's tourism industry and contributes significantly to the country's economic development. 

"Large carnivores represent some of the earth's most critical wildlife species intersecting hundreds of religions, cultures and tourism economies. In Uganda, especially in places like Queen Elizabeth National Park, every tree-climbing lion is estimated to be worth $14,000 (over sh51m) in terms of tourism," Butime stated.

He further explained that the strategic action plan for large carnivore conservation aligns with the country's National Development Plan III (2020-2025) and vision 2040, which recognises wildlife-based tourism as key to Uganda's industrialisation and middle-income status. The plan addresses the urgent need to protect large carnivores and their habitat. It also provides updated information on African lions, leopards and spotted hyenas.

Why large carnivores have decreased

Large carnivores in Uganda's context refer to African lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, Cheetahs and African wild dogs. Newly appointed UWA executive director Dr James Musinguzi said the African lion in particular is one of the critically threatened carnivore species in Uganda. 

"Their population in Uganda decreased drastically from the 1970s due to political instability and the breakdown in the rule of law which resulted in the illegal hunting of wildlife," he said.

According to available data, lions which previously inhabited across most of the savannah parks in Uganda, now only inhabit in Murchison Falls National Park where there are 240 individuals as per the latest census of 2022 compared to 467 individuals in the year 2000. Queen Elizabeth NP currently possesses 39 lions compared to 400 individuals in the 1990s whereas Kidepo Valley National Park remains with 12 lions compared to 60 in the 1990s.

"Cheetahs still occur in very small numbers in Kidepo Valley NP and Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve. On the other hand, African wild dogs had been feared extinct but in 2023, a pair was sighted in the Narus valley of Kidepo NP," Musinguzi stated.

Jimmy Kisembo, one of the UWA staff working under monitoring and research explains that the threats to lions and other large carnivore species in Uganda include human-carnivore conflicts, habitat degradation and fragmentation, poaching, illegal trade in carnivore parts, cultural and traditional practices. Others include predator-prey relationships leading to the depletion of lion prey, loss of migratory corridors, climate change, diseases and high mortalities due to high chances of inbreeding, plus infantcide as a result of skewed sexual ratios.

Action plan

The newly launched strategic action plan advocates for controlled access to protected areas where large animals are being conserved. 

"Where carnivores are being conserved, livestock must be excluded through appropriate fencing and assisting livestock farmers to change their traditional way such as free-range grazing. This will be achieved through closely working with neighbouring communities and using high technology equipment such as unmanned drones and surveillance cameras," the strategic plan suggests.

A lion in the delta area of Murchison Falls National Park, which has the highest concentration of large carnivores in the region. (Photo by Julius Luwemba)

UWA head of research and monitoring Aggrey Rwetsiba intimated that the action plan guides the regulatory bodies and the tourism ministry to supervise all the organisations, agencies among several stakeholders operating within the protected areas to avoid overlapping and/or replication of activities such as desnaring. 

"The UWA technical team will meet all the actors and stakeholders at least twice a year, to oversee the implementation of the strategy and action plan as well as assess the key priorities to help its realisation," Rwetsiba explained.

Prof. James Kalema, the UWA chairman board of trustees, said the action plan presents objectives, strategies and actions for mitigating threats to large carnivores and their habitats as well as providing scientific data and long-term monitoring to boost the large carnivore population. "The plan highlights park-specific threats and population status assessment, factoring in local contexts, park size, land use and stakeholder partner conservation organisations ready and willing to collaborate with the UWA management," Kalema remarked.

Musinguzi expounded that the strategic interventions required to address the threats include, reducing poaching rates of large carnivores and their prey species inside and outside the protected areas, improved and maintained quality of suitable habitats of lions, enhancing human-large carnivore species coexistence in and outside the protected areas, enhancing and promoting evidence-based (scientific, genetics) monitoring and evaluation research as well as evidence-based decision making.

"We also intend to establish and operationalise a collaboration mechanism for large carnivore species conservation in Uganda, facilitating lion population recovery and conservation as well as establishing new ranging grounds," Musinguzi explained, further revealing that the launched plan is estimated to cost shillings 169 billion ($44m) for the 10year period.

"We have already committed some funds towards this plan and are currently carrying out genetic studies with a view to start on the translocation of lions where necessary as guided by the ongoing study from Murchison Falls National Park to Queen Elizabeth National Park and Kidepo Valley National park effective next financial year," revealed the UWA boss.

The wildlife authority is also carrying out efforts in regard to law enforcement, intelligence gathering, electric fencing, conservation education and awareness, revenue sharing, compensation for loss of damage and life among others, all aimed at fostering a harmonious relationship between the communities and park management plus the wildlife.

In his remarks, Sadek acknowledged that conservation is becoming very expensive in terms of protecting ecosystems, countering poaching, mitigating human-wildlife conflicts and adapting to climate change. 

"As the European Union, we are committed to supporting conservation in Uganda and across the globe, understanding that conservation is not just about preserving nature but also building resilience, securing livelihoods and fostering sustainable development," he said.