Why Bwindi, Mgahinga national parks neighbours remain poor

While tourism is one of the largest sectors of the economy with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contribution to the national economy of 3.64 percent, according to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), the communities living around tourism sites in Kigezi Sub-region have remained poor.

The Uganda Tourism Satellite Account (UTSA) 2023 states that tourism also accounts for large employment of close to 1.6 million people of which 68 percent are females, accounting for 14.7 percent of the total number of jobs in the sector.

However, the Kisoro District Chairman, Mr Abel Bizimana, observes that there is a need for a deliberate government policy to empower the people living next to Bwindi and Mgahinga national parks.

He says residents are being mocked by what he calls small perks, which the district receives under the revenue-sharing funds, which he says have had no impact on the communities whose crop gardens are destroyed by wild animals and that their infrastructure remains in a sorry state.

“Government has not supported them in improving infrastructure such as roads and establishment of cottage industries where they can get employment besides getting the market for their agriculture produce,” Mr Bizimana says, suggesting that the government should consider allocating $350 (50 percent) of what each tourist pays for a Gorilla Trekking Permit to support infrastructure development such as tarmacking roads, and building education and health facilities, to benefit the community members, the tourists and the tour operators.

“The government has also not prioritised the promotion of modern farming practices to help the farmers in Kigezi Sub-region to overcome poverty,” Mr Bizimana says, adding that the school dropout rate and absenteeism in the communities neighboring the protected areas in his district is high because children join their parents in guarding crop gardens against being raided by wild animals. 

“Failure by the government to upgrade Kisoro Airstrip to accommodate big aircraft has denied the local tour operators the chance to benefit from tourism, the fact that big aircraft land in Kigali Rwanda and Entebbe airport where local operators cannot easily access, affects business,” he says.

Poor infrastructure
Mr Ivan Mbabazi Batuma, the chairman of the Kigezi tourism cluster, says the investors in the tourism industry in Kigezi Sub-region have been equally affected by the poor infrastructure, especially roads and utilities.

“We are struggling to offer tourism services in Bwindi and Mgahinga national parks because of poor road network, lack of electricity, piped water, and internet services that have become global must-use facilities.

Without a deliberate government intervention in improving infrastructure, the investors in tourism shall remain struggling,” Mr Batuma says. 

The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) Conservation Manager for Bwindi and Mgahinga national parks, Mr Nelson Guma, says the leaders should be patient because government plans for the construction of tourism roads are underway.

“Improving tourism infrastructure was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. As the number of tourists continues to increase, the revenue sharing shall increase, thus benefiting the communities. Increasing the revenue sharing is a policy issue that cannot be altered anyhow,” Mr Guma says.

He adds that the government would also commence the construction of Kisoro-Mgahinga National Park Road.

The Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Mr Tom Butime, says in UTSA 2019 report, inbound tourists to Uganda spent more than Shs4.58 trillion on tourism services while domestic tourists spent approximately Shs2.97 trillion.

“With further reforms in the economy, including the development of aerodromes and improved infrastructure, the tourism sector is likely to rapidly grow in the immediate future. I am confident that the UTSA report 2023 will provide greater insights and necessary information on tourism’s economic contribution and its measurement to the diverse tourism stakeholders,” Mr Butime says.