ENVIRONMENT-UGANDA: Poachers Still Pose a Big Threat to Elephants

By Evelyn Kiapi Reprint | | Print |

Evelyn Kiapi Matsamura

KAMPALA, May 7 2003 (IPS) - Six years after the international community banned ivory trade, poachers still pose a big threat to Uganda’s elephants.

In Uganda, the elephants, or the jumbos as they are commonly known, are considered as one of the big five tourist attractions – after the lion, buffalo, hippo and giraffe.

Now, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) fears that the country’s elephant herd is being threatened by poachers. Its concern followed the slaughter of seven elephants, including an infant, in the country’s largest wildlife reserve, the Murchison Falls National Park, on Mar 28.

The incident took place near river Tangi in the northern side of Murchison Falls National Park, 15 kilometres from the nearest Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) barracks, according to a UWA report, made available to IPS, this week.

The poachers randomly shot the elephants before chopping their tasks with axes, UWA said.

When the carcasses were discovered a search was conducted and investigations revealed that soldiers took part in the killing.

Arthur Mugisha, UWA Executive Director, believes the poachers were familiar with the region.

"The poachers had taken their time to even prepare their meal of yellow maize supplied by the World Food Programme around the scene of crime," he said.

"Fifteen civilians in the company of two soldiers entered the park.The party opened random fire at the herd and six of them were instantly killed. We are still investigating the likelihood that others were injured or could have died later," Mugisha said.

Five of the poachers, who have been arrested, will soon appear in court in Gulu, the largest town in northern Uganda, where the park is located.

UWA said the ivory was first transported to Gulu in sacks, mixed with fresh cassava tubers, before they were shipped to Kampala, the capital of Uganda.

"There is a big racket stretching from Murchison Falls to Kampala," Mugisha said. "It is a clear indication that illegal ivory trade still exists."

UWA has offered a reward of Shs 5 million (2,500 U.S. dollars) to anyone with information leading to the arrest of the remaining poachers.

Elephant tasks sell for between Shs 10,000 (6 U.S. dollars) and Shs 180,000 (108 U.S. dollars), investigations revealed.

UWA chairperson, John Nagenda, says the only way to get people to understand the importance of wildlife is by educating them.

But a poacher, who was caught in north-eastern Uganda for shooting 12 elephants for ivory recently, was only fined Shs 10,000 fine (6 U.S. dollars). "It was a weak penalty," Nagenda argued.

"We pray the prosecution to pass a stiff sentence to the convicts to send a strong signal that armed ivory poaching is indeed a serious offence. Weak sentences send wrong signals to potential and habitual criminals and are not deterrent enough to discourage poaching," Mugisha said.

In Nov. 2002, a Convention on the International Trade on Endangered Species (CITES) that took place in Chile debated the trade of stockpiles of ivory. Southern African countries argued for resumption of sale of ivory, while Kenya and India called for the continued ban.

In the 1960s Uganda had an elephant population of 30,000. The population hit a low mark in the 1970s when only 500 elephants were recorded in Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls National Parks in the south and north-western parts of the country.

The main cause of their demise was ivory poaching which also saw the extinction of rhinos in Uganda. It was in 1986 when President Yoweri Museveni’s government came to power that the importance of conserving wildlife was noted. UWA was formed to combat poaching.

Since then, the number of elephants has been steadily growing and the latest census reveals 2,500 jumbos in the two parks.

Marking 50 years of conservation in Uganda late last year, President Museveni promised a special force to ensure security of both tourists and wildlife.

UWA has also proposed to demarcate all wildlife-protected areas. The exercise, although will affect communities living near or within the protected zones, aims to reduce incidences of conflict between wildlife and human beings as well as improve on the tourism sector through protection of wildlife.

Tourism is Uganda’s leading income earner, fetching up to 40 million U.S. dollars per annum.