LEARN8

This week I read a story about to protect the forests in Urganda.

These forests (Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and Kamarun Game reserve) are some of Urganda´s “protected areas”. They are protected as a conservation measure for Urganda´s biological diversity.
Even after designating the areas as protected areas, the communities have vested interests and playing a leading role in terms of management and utilization of the areas.
More importantly, these areas play host to the more than half of the endangered mountain gorilla.
The project (Kamerun Game reserve) has three objectives:
- to strengthening Masindi District's resource planning
- to encouraging appropriate use of land in buffer zones
- to raising incomes of rural men and women in buffer zone
And the project (Bwindi-Mgahinga Gorilla Park) has the aim:
- To establishing the exact circ**stances that led to the "Batwa" Pygmies being evicted from the forests. Indicate the support that was provided to the pygmies in enabling them begin a new life outside the forest.
- to establish the motivating or compelling factors that led to their voluntary migration from the forest. The extent to which they have been integrated in the new environment to be a****sed.
The important lesson is:
Active involvement of communities that live in and around protected areas can play a vital role in the overall management of the protected areas. This works well if there is a degree of transparency in the management, including sharing revenue realised from the protected areas.