Govt launches new chimpanzee Action Plan
L-R: Dr Bwire Tadeo, Head of Marketing at UWEC, Mr James Byamukama, ED of Jane Goodall Institute, Ms Shivan Kamugisha, Partnership Coordinator of Wildlife Conservation Society, Dr Peter Apell, Programs Director at Jane Goodall Institute Uganda, and Dr Joshua Rukundo, ED Ngamba chimpanzee Sanctuary. Photo | Eve Muganga
What you need to know:
- The population of chimpanzees used to be over 2 million in 1900 but today it’s about 135,000 which indicated a depletion
The government through the Ministry of Wildlife and Antiquities with other partners has drafted a new Chimpanzee Action Plan 2023-2033 as a pathway on how all agencies are going to work together towards conserving chimpanzees balancing conservation and development.
This was revealed by the Programmes Director at Jane Goodall Institute, Dr Peter Apell, while addressing journalists at their offices in Lubowa, Kampala on Monday. He announced renowned conservationist Dr Jane Goodall’s visit to Uganda this month.
“This new Chimpanzee Action Plan will be launched during Dr Jane Goodall’s visit. Uganda should be happy that the Chimpanzee Action Plan of 2002-2012 has seen the stabilisation of the population of Chimpanzees in the country,” he said.
The population of chimpanzees used to be over 2 million in 1900 but today it’s about 135,000 which indicated a depletion.
“We are losing forests in Uganda at the rate of 3.5 per cent per annum which is a huge proportion since it’s the habitat for chimpanzees,” Dr Apell said.
Renowned conservationist Dr Jane Goodall is set to visit Uganda. Photo | Courtesy
Dr Joshua Rukundo, the Executive Director of Ngamba Chimpanzee Sanctuary noted that they aim to raise awareness about the importance of conserving chimpanzees and their natural habitats during the 25th-anniversary celebrations set to be held on August 23 at Speke Resort Munyonyo
The theme for this celebration is “Partnerships for co-existence, to promote the need for humans and wildlife to live in harmony in shared environments”.
Mr James Byamukama the Executive Director of Jane Goodall Institute said the visit, scheduled for August 20-25, is set to be a momentous occasion.
“On August 20, she will be visiting Uganda to connect with national audiences, spreading hope and turning it into a meaningful positive impact to create a better world for people, other animals, and the planet we share,” he said.
