The case of the FORGOTTEN STAKEHOLDERS of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda
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Transcript of The case of the FORGOTTEN STAKEHOLDERS of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda
The case of the FORGOTTEN STAKEHOLDERS of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda
Presented by: Stephen Asuma, IGCP1
Views of local commercial users of forest resources on creation of national parks,
DISCLAIMER
The information presented here is not a position of IGCP or Stephen Asuma,
BUT
A COMPILATION OF THE LIFE HISTORIES OF THE RESPONDENTS!
2
Presentation outline
Context:
Reasons and Implications of creation of the park
My study: Perceptions of commercial resource users:
Background
Aim
Method
Findings
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Local community use of Bwindi forest before 1991
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Causes and implications of creation of the park
Reasons Implications
Protecting biodiversity and habitat for endangered and threatened spp
Securing water catchment
Wanton destruction by pitsawers
Restriction on community access to Forest pdcts
Loss of income and employment
Feeling of lack of ownership
Violent resistance by community members
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Integrated Conservation and Development Programmes
1987 – conservation education and woodlot programme
1989 – agroforestry and agriculture
1993 – gorilla tourism and tourism-based enterprise
1993 – participatory management planning and ‘multiple use’ (resource sharing) programme
1996 – Bwindi and Mgahinga Conservation Trust
1996 –tourism revenue sharing
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BINP-Revenue sharing fund releases,1996-2012
0
100000000
200000000
300000000
400000000
500000000
600000000
700000000
1996 2002 2006 2007 2009 2012
79,000,000 88,755,000114,218,700 107,000,000
389,004,000
661,774,810
Observed trends
+ve attitude change
support for park management
57
79
238228
314
32
411
345
293
381
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
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No. of snares
Bamboo
Firewood
Fishing
Grazing
Wildhoney
Hunting
pole cutting
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Study Background
aim: establish the impact of creation of BINP on local commercial users of forest resources.
• life before gazzettement
• costs incurred on gazettement
• how they responded
• if engaged in ICDPs.
goal:
1. Improve ICDP
2. recommendations for conservation policy and practice.
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Hypotheses
Commercial resource harvesters perceived negative livelihood impacts of National Park gazettement.
Commercial resource harvesters feel animosity towards the management of Bwindi park.
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Methodology
Qualitative approach
Compiling individual experiences
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Methodology
•Respondents from two parishes i.e. Mukono and Rubuguli .
•Used random sample generator in Excel.
•three time scales:
• before park gazettement
• Within 5 years after park gazettement
• 2012
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Results
Profiles:
All belong to the same tribe
Timber cutters and gold miners were more likely not to be educated
Gold miners included educated people
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“Teachers were resigning to join gold mining business. Even my brother the catholic catechist
would sneak to mine”- John,63yrs
The fellows are family and kin!
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Who inducted them into the trades?
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family and kinship
influence46%
financial capacity
9%
foreign influence
4%
friends and peer influence
4%
friends and peers29%
trained in the trade
8%
The main drivers
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‘These were the only jobs available for uneducated people like me'- John 60 yrs,
Low levels of
education
lack of alternative sources of
income
opportunity for quick money
Life before gazettement
“Life was good, I was able to pay dowry & provide hh needs”
“Income was daily and enough”
“I was respected by the community. I employed about 100 people”-
“I was better paid than teachers, government workers and clergymen”- John Tindikahwa
Invested and acquired property
Easy and quick money- took kids off school
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Impact on household income
“I lost much money in timber cutting because I had paid for 70 trees, but did not claim the money”-John Tindikahwa, Timber trader, Rubuguli
“I had just renewed my timber licence and when I tried to go to the park to cut the trees on my license, my tools and some of the staff were arrested"-Leo Byarugaba, Timber trader, Mukono
“It was unexpected. My prospecting license was still running. It was strange but true"-Aloysious, Gold miner, Rubuguli
not much
9%
reduced hh
income86%
others5%
Impact of gazettement on livelihood
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Results
Timber cutters and gold miners
seemed to have taken the biggest hit
seemed to have lost glory
Timber and Gold traders:
have some influence in society
seemed to have adapted better
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Results
Group not target with ICDs.
No specific engagement in park management decision making
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Impacts of gazzettement
•But for the general community
•Disappointment and anguish-mainly TCs and GMs
0
2
4
6
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betternow
same worsenow
Comparison of state of households before and after park gazzettement
Total
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Impacts of gazzettement
5%
91%
4%
As an after thought, was the gazzettement of the park good or
bad?
fairly good good very good
“but only for the educated and young"-Henry
“easy money made us not study. If it continued, our children would most likely not study too"-Cypriano
there would be no forest now. We would be growing beans there"-Bernard
Our eyes are now open, we plan for the future, we educate our children, people have built better houses"-John
" but people previously working in the forest were not given alternatives" -John Tindikahwa
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Coping strategies
Timber cutters & gold miners Timber & gold traders
Migration to continue trade
Digging and selling produce
Cutting timber on community land
Providing casual labor
Planting trees and now cutting timber on private land
Livestock rearing
Small businesses
Joined local politics
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Proposed remedial actions
1. Support with IGAs
2. Employment especially for their children
3. Scholarship for kids
4. Improvement in management of Revenue sharing programme
5. Create timber harvesting zones
6. Improved social services and infrastructure
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Conclusion1. The gazettement of Bwindi forest immensely
affected previous commercial forest resource users.
2. Second tier users coped better
3. Poorer households express a more negative attitude towards the park, compared with richer households.
4. Feeling of /actual ownership of a process is an important determinant of outcomes and trends
5. Interventions need to be well thought-out and contextualized
6. Benefits to communities surrounding PAs plays a big part in changing attitudes
7. Benefits(real or perceived) need to surpass costs25
Key take home Question
What is the role of ‘The forgotten stakeholders’ in effective management
of BINP?
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Hey, where will the kids
go, if our cousins
decide to plant beans
here?
Thanks for Your Interest
DISCLAIMER
The views presented here are not of IGCP or Stephen Asuma,
BUT
A COMPILATION OF THE LIFE HISTORIES OF
‘THE FORGOTTEN STAKEHOLDERS’!
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