Rt Rev Dan Zoreka and the Director of Conservation at Uganda Wildlife Authority John Makombo prepare to take part in Chimpanzee awareness Walk

KANUNGU– The Director of Conservation in Uganda Wildlife Authority John Makombo has said called on the District Local Governments to promote Community based tourism in order to involve the people in conserving wildlife for generations.

Makombo who represented the Uganda Wildlife Authority Executive Director Sam Mwandha made the remarks today while speaking at the commemoration of World Chimpanzees Day which was held yesterday at Ngoto – Bwindi Tourism Hub in Kirima Sub County in Kanungu District.

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The day was organised by Kanungu District Local Government in collaboration with the Diocese of Kinkizi, Jane Goodall Institute under the theme. “Chimpanzee, Mountain Gorillas shared in Landscape.

Makombo said that Kanungu District is endowed with two National Parks and if well utilised by conserving and promoting community tourism they will benefit more.

He thanked the Diocese of Kinkizi led by Bishop Dan Zoreka, the Jane Goodall Institute and Kanungu District Local Government as partners in conservation and Bwindi – Ngoto Community Conservation and Development Initiatives for identifying their community to get involved in the habituation of the Chimpanzee.

The dignitaries also took part in nature walk around Ngoto Tourism Hub

According to Uganda Wildlife Authority, the Chimpanzee is a primate that has 99.8% relation genes with human beings and therefore they should be protected and conserved for future generations. He also noted that research about the Chimpanzee over years has revealed that the primates have the ability to communicate with human beings and also use certain tools just like human beings do.

Makombo who heads Conservation at Uganda Wildlife Authority pledged to work with Diocese of Kinkizi to ensure that Ngoto becomes a one stop center for tourists to track the Chimpanzee just like other upcoming urban centers of Buhoma, Ruhija in Rubanda District and Nkuringo in Kisoro which are thriving with business and infrastructural development as a result of conserving and habituating Mountain Gorilla.

He announced that there are other Chimpanzee sites in Kibale, Kyambura and Karinju which have become sure destinations for tourists because they are booked year in year out and the creation of Bwindi – Ngoto Chimpanzee site will not leave the area and community around it the same.

He therefore asked the leaders at all levels to encourage the community especially the Batwa living at the periphery of the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to embark on community and domestic in order to tap on the developing tourism sector.

John Makombo, the Director of Conservation at Uganda Wildlife Authority plant a memorial tree at Ngoto

The Bishop of Diocese of Kinkizi Rt Rev Dan Zoreka said that as Church they have identified Ngoto Tourism Hub to promote Chimpanzee habituation for development and asked all people in Kanungu to take a responsibility to protect the primates.

Bishop Dan Zoreka appealed to Uganda Wildlife Authority to assist the Diocese with technical and financial support and develop Ngoto Tourism Hub and become a leading destination for tourists.

The Bishop was on spot for apologising on behalf of the community for encroaching on the conservation area which he assured will not be repeated since all people have been sensitised on the importance of conservation and its benefits.

The Chief Executive Officer of Jane Goodall Institute, James Byamukama, thanked the people of Kanungu for preaching the massage of peace which is a core principle of their Institute whose vision to protect and conserve Chimpanzee become a reality.

Byamukama said that Jane Goodall Institute has done continous research on Chimpanzee for 64 years after their founder Dr Jane Goodall from Britain came to Africa and in Tanzania and has since rescued and protected the primates.

He said that the Jane Goodall Institute has developed a National Chimpanzee Strategy Conservation Program aimed at partnering with communities to improve household incomes by involving the people to start income generating activities that do not endanger the primates.

He thanked Rev Canon Kenneth Kanyankore who chaired the Organising Committee that organized this year’s World Chimpanzee Day and pledged more support for such activity especially taking the conservation massage to schools and institutions who are agents of change and promised that his organization will ensure that the participating schools and institutions are supported and taken for study tours to ensure that their massage develop a rich content.

Kanungu Deputy Resident District Commissioner Gad Ahimbisibwe Rugaju addressed the general public

Kanungu Deputy Resident Commissioner Gad Ahimbisibwe Rugaju thanked the Bishop Zoreka and other stakeholders for initiating the Chimpanzee habituation in Ngoto and said that it will go a long way in developing the area.

Ahimbisibwe Rugaju called on Uganda Wildlife Authority to support Kanungu District Tourism office with equipment like camera, computers and projectors in order to ease their work of sensitizing the communities to conserve Wildlife and protect the Chimpanzee in particular.

The Deputy RDC also called on Uganda Wildlife Authority to develop proper guidelines for the utilisation of Revenue Sharing Funds so that it can benefit other sectors like production which are directly dealing with tourism sector promotions.

He hailed the Church of Uganda for and more especially Rt Rev Dan Zoreka for starting up the Ngoto Tourism Hub which he said was unique in its own way and said it is well packaged, marketed and publicized can become the den of tourism experience because of its unique nature.

Earlier the Bwindi Mghahinga Conservation Area Chief Warden Nelson Guma said that Chimpanzee in Bwindi have unique characteristics which is the cause for promoting them.

Guma gave an a rare unique experience of the Chimpanzee in Bwindi which unlike those in Kibale and elsewhere which make nests in trees where they sleep, these ones are able to lay their beds using grasses on the ground where they sleep.

The Guest of Honor at the World Chimpanzee Day John Makombo addressing the general public

Kanungu District LC 5 Vice Chairman Henry Mwongyera who repsented the District Chairman Eng Sam Arinaitwe Kajojo described the partnership between the district, the church, Jane Goodall and Uganda Wildlife Authority as a master piece that will change the lives of the people of Kanungu socially and economically.

The Interim Chairperson of Bwindi – Ngoto Community Conservation and Development Initiative Oscar Wako who is also the District Councillor for Kirima Sub County said that they started the organisation specifically to partner with Uganda Wildlife Authority, Diocese of Kinkizi and Kanungu District Local Government to support initiatives in promotion of investments in domestic tourism and eco-tourism.

Wako appealed to Uganda Wildlife Authority to fast track the habituation of Chimpanzee Site at Ngoto Swamp which is the peripheral part of the Northern Sector of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest to enable the community around the area an opportunity to tap on the tourism industry and said that this will go a long way in enabling inclusive tourism participation in the district which will result in increased flow of tourists to the area and increase revenues for the government and job opportunity creation for the community.

Byamukama made it categorically clear that his organisation whose mission is to work with communities around Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Ngoto Wetland Ecosystem to implement sustainable environmental conservation decisions will ensure they take biodiversity in terms of growth and economic development, the environment, health and the social life of the communities.

He said that through the Organisation, tourism education, mindset change economic empowerment through sustainable agricultural options for food security, income generation and nutrition, access to quality education, skilling and conservation of the biodiversity awareness, tourism opportunities will be enhanced.

Chairman of the Organizing Committee of World Chimpanzee Day Rev Can Kenneth Kanyankore talks to one of the exhibitors

The event started with a walk which was composed by selected schools and institutions, women groups and members of the general public and Kanungu District leaders, Diocese of Kinkizi and the officials from Jane Goodall Institute and Uganda Wildlife Authority through Kanungu Town Council streets aiming at creating awareness about the Chimpanzee and how to conserve it.

During the function, Jane Goodall Institute and Uganda Wildlife Authority awarded institutions and individuals who have been involved creating awareness and conserving the Chimpanzee across the country.

The school children who took part in the Chimpanzee Awareness Walk in Kanungu Town Council.