UCF's first 'bricks and mortar' construction is on schedule

In the next few weeks UWA rangers will, for the first time ever, have a permanent presence stationed in the Dura sector, an area of 400km² north of Lake George. Construction of UCF’s first accommodation ranger post for Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) rangers in Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP) is well advanced. Built to UWA specification and using a local construction company, this unit will have the capacity to house four rangers and their families.

The presence of rangers and law enforcement activity in the area will be enough to deter many poachers. At the end of 2009, 400 poachers were reported to have voluntarily handed in spears and hunting equipment to UWA. This followed a three week programme when 25 ex-poachers were employed by the Uganda Conservation Foundation to clear papyrus as part of works to establish a boat station on northern Lake George. UCF and UWA used this opportunity to sensitise the local community to our conservation aims, to the potential benefits to them of revenue accrued through tourism and of the penalties for poaching and related illegal activities.

25 ex-poachers were employed to clear the papyrus

The deployment of rangers in the area will also supplement and strengthen the existing Waterways project in Lake George.

As part of the Dura recovery project, the rangers stationed in the new accommodation will start removing snares. Snares are indiscriminate. They hurt, capture and ultimately kill all kinds of animals: feet can become trapped; wire can get tightly wrapped around an elephant’s trunk; in neighbouring Kibale, 50% of chimpanzees have limbs missing because of snares.

Snare removal and anti-poaching is dangerous work and we will be relying on the cooperation of the ex-poachers to show us where snares and poachers camps are located. Rangers will cut back the dense bush to create vehicle access thereby allowing the research teams to start on the next stages of Dura recovery. Community education programmes will be rolled out at the same time.

Construction workers finish the last section of brickwork.

Construction of ranger accommodation is therefore an important milestone in UCF’s comprehensive plan for recovery of the Dura sector. 

Away from the popular tourism areas, the Uganda Wildlife Authority is massively under resourced and there is an urgent need for infrastructure. Rangers cover an enormous territory – Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP) covers an area of 1978 km² -  of difficult and, in Dura, inaccessible terrain.

Vehicles are few and far between thus the provision of accommodation and the use of UCF-funded boats greatly increases the Authority’s capacity to tackle illegal activities in a wider geographical area. On the Waterways project this capacity-building extends to accredited Marine Ranger Training which the Park’s Chief Warden states has been of enormous benefit to wildlife and humans alike. 

Support for the construction of this accommodation and the associated Dura and Waterways projects has been made possible by the generous support of David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, International Elephant Foundation, Tusk Trust, US Fish and Wildlife Service, SeaWorld Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund. 

Current proposals focus on construction of a ten man ranger post – as laid out in UWA’s Strategic Management Plan - to boost permanent presence in the area.

Additional equipment to support UWA rangers and to make the Dura recovery project substantially more viable is also urgently sought. Simple solutions such as protective clothing, tents, mosquito nets and bicycles for mobile patrol units will all contribute hugely to the speed at which UCF and UWA can recover this area for wildlife.

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