Half of Gen Zers at risk of vitamin B12 deficiency due…Foreign tourists pay $600-$700 per person for gorilla-tracking permits issued by the Uganda Wildlife Authority, which allow them to track and spend an hour with human-habituated mountain gorilla families.
Tourists from around the world pay top dollar for a once-in-a-lifetime chance to hobnob with gorilla families in Uganda’s montane forests. Part of the rationale for the steep prices is that gorilla permits fund efforts to keep these majestic apes safe. However, allegations of fraud in issuing of gorilla and chimpanzee permits at the Uganda Wildlife Authority have exposed weaknesses in the country’s tourism-led conservation approach.
Tourists and guides take a break during a gorilla tourism trek in Mgahinga National Park, Uganda. Image by Rand Snyder via Sam Mwandha, executive director of the wildlife agency, told Mongabay the audit revealed that officials from the departments of reservations, finance and information technology were possibly involved, with the help of field staff. An ongoing investigation is also scrutinizing the role of tour operators.
A tourist photographing gorillas in Biwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. Under a revenue-sharing agreement in place at Bwindi, $10 per gorilla permit sold and 20% of the $40 park entry fee is set aside for communities living around the park’s borders. Image by Jason Houston for USAID via “The whole aim of revenue sharing in conservation projects is to improve the perception among communities and to garner support for protected area management,” Rusoke said.
Hangi at the UWA appeared to agree with this assessment. “A portion of the agency’s revenue directly contributes to local communities living adjacent to national parks, thus ensuring their participation in conserving natural resources,” he said, adding that fake gorilla permits “not only jeopardize conservation efforts but also negatively affect the socio-economic development of communities.”
“The revenue can never be enough,” Rusoke said, “and there are leakages from corruption, delays, and problems in procurement. There is mismanagement and misappropriation of funds.”