COVID-19 related poaching surge threatens Gorillas

The last progress report for the “COVID-19 related poaching surge threatens Gorillas” project was developed in July 2020.

The report was submitted at a time when people around Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP) were in dire need of food because of the absence of tourism which was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

With your continued support, we have been able to raise $13,715.40 of our $20,000 goal from 30 donors with 1 monthly donor and 1 fundraiser.

With these funds, the following activities were achieved, which helped towards the successful implementation of the Ready to Grow Project which seeks to meet the nutritional needs of at risk people around Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP), helping to prevent a dependence on hunting and natural resources to meet nutritional needs.

The ready to grow seeds and seedlings including tomatoes, onions, cabbages, kale, spinach, beans, groundnuts, maize, sweet potatoes and amaranth were purchased and planted in a nursery bed which was constructed at the CTPH field office in Buhoma, on the outskirts of BINP, in September 2020.

The mobilization, identification and sensitization of most at risk and most in need beneficiaries was successfully done in October 2020 up to the beginning of November 2020.

Amidst much excitement and relief from the community members, the distribution of the ready to grow garden kits began at the beginning of November 2020 with the following categories of beneficiaries given priority because they were most affected by the lack of tourism:

• Reformed Poachers
• Porters
• Village Health and Conservation Teams (VHCTs)
• Members of the community-based tourism sector who previously sold items such as crafts and food to tourists
• Batwa Community
• Human and Gorilla Conflict resolution teams (HUGOs)
• Local Council chairpersons (LC1s)

These seedlings will start to provide food for the households within 1-3 months when harvesting can begin. The Monitoring, support and follow up of beneficiaries will continued in December onwards.

Links:

• Responding To COVID-19 Through A One Health Approach
• Interview With National Geographic Explorer And Conservationist
• Visit our website

The COVID-19 related poaching surge threatens Gorillas project was launched after Rafiki, one of Bwindi's silverback mountain gorillas from Nkuringo gorilla group, was killed on June 1st by bush meat poachers.

Rafiki's killing has been attributed to the absence of tourism around Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, due to the national lock down and ban on primate tourism since the COVID-19 pandemic reached Uganda. This has left very many people jobless and impoverished around Bwindi where community members were previously heavily dependent on tourism for employment. The park has seen a spike in people entering the forest illegally to hunt for animals such as duikers and bush pigs which share the same habitat with the endangered mountain gorillas.

We have raised $9,025 out of our target of $20,000 from 16 donors, with 1 monthly donor and 1 fundraiser since the project was launched 4 months ago. Funds raised from this project will provide nutritional support to people around Bwindi with nutrient-rich, fast-growing, low-maintenance food crops which can be grown with minimal inputs and space. 

The following activities have been accomplished to date:

• Developed an implementation strategy to reach the target groups.
• Conducted internal planning sessions and developed a budget for the program.
• Implemented a survey around Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to identify crops and vegetables which are preferred by target communities and are suitable for the prevailing climatic conditions. 

The following activities are scheduled to be accomplished between August and December 2020.

• Procurement of planting materials including seeds such as tomatoes, onions, cabbages, kales, spinach, beans, groundnuts, maize, sweet potatoes and amaranth
• Nursery bed construction
• Mobilization and identification of most at risk and most in need beneficiaries
• Sensitization and training of beneficiaries
• Distribution of the ready to grow garden kits
• Monitoring and follow up of beneficiaries. 

At the beginning of July 2020, Conservation Through Public Health was selected to receive a $1,000 micro grant from GlobalGiving which will be a great boost towards achieving this project’s planned activities.

Thank you very much for all your invaluable support.

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