Trafficking Wildlife has also escalated due to the fact that many of the culprits easily escape detection and the punishment meted out against them is far less than the huge benefits they reap from a single sale.

If left unchecked this illegal trade in wildlife will adversely affect Africa’s wildlife which has long been its pride and a great potential for economic development. According to Mr. Dan Alio the Lusaka Agreement Task Force Field officer, illegal trade in Wildlife is the third highest contraband business accounting for between 10 – 20 billion USD annually.

The east African countries of the Great Lakes region are faced with a great challenge of countering these smuggling rackets. This is due to the fact the region has a high bio diversity with lots of endemic species which are highly sought after by trophy hunters and rich people wishing to getting these animals as pets as well as keep them in their backyards. Illegal trading in flora and fauna has been such as concern to the wildlife authorities in the region. In Uganda along the Uganda Wildlife Authority seized over 130 wildlife species in 2005.

To further illustrate the depth taken by the smugglers, Mr. Enoch Walugembe, the Uganda Wildlife Authority Assistant Commissioner for Enforcement said these smugglers use among other things diplomatic bags to carry offer small trophies and plants which are not easy for the revenue officials and border authorities to detect.

At a recent workshop held in Uganda, which was organized by the Uganda Wildlife Authority and the Lusaka Agreement Task Force, the Assistant Commissioner for Enforcement, Mr. Enoch Walugembe pointed out the fact that poaching and illegal trading in flora and fauna has increased significantly as indicated by the confiscations most of which are on the endangered list of wildlife and others are threatened species. These include chameleons, snakes, ivory, monkeys, chimpanzees, elephants, plant species and bush meat to mention but a few. Mr. Enoch called upon all stakeholders to join hands with the law enforcement agents and put to a halt this escalation in wildlife crime. The Assistant Commissioner also pointed out that over 300 grammes of 12 elephant tusks that had been properly worked were seized at the eastern border crossing town of Busia in 2006 July from a Chinese national.

To regulate the trading in wildlife in this beautiful pearl of Africa, the government has licensed 10 companies and they include On Tour Uganda, Hasena Investments Uganda limited, Sam’s Restaurant Cinnamon Grill Limited (SMICO), Navira Exports, Skin Craft Industries Limited, SS Breeding Farm and Tropical Fauna Limited. However, most of the breeding farm programmes for captive wildlife in Uganda are still in their infancy stages according to Mr. Samuel Amanya.

A report by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) indicates that between 1989 – 2000 there has been over 7000 seizures worldwide of trafficked elephant ivory of approximately 200 tons. In Uganda alone, law enforcement agencies have been able to seize over 3.3 tons of ivory through its eastern border crossing of the town of Malaba.

For your Uganda Safari, Wildlife Safari and Wildlife tours

However, the country might lose lots of revenue due to the dilapidated state of the bridge on the Rukungiri - Kanungu border. This bridge connects areas that offer great tourist attractions such as the Mountain gorillas in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park and the tree climbing lions of the Ishasha sector found on Uganda’s border with the Democratic republic of Congo.

This bridge which was built in the early 1930’s has been weakened due to fact that people are vandalizing the bridge and removing pieces of metal bars to be sold as scrap which is a lucrative business for the local scrap metal dealers in the area. The Kanungu and Rukungiri District Works and Technical Services departments are wary that the bridge could colapse anytime. This has forced tourists and tour operators to take the longer route through Ishasha, Kanungu and Kabale districts further increasing the costs of a given Uganda tour. However, this was not the case four years ago in 2004 when the construction of the road joining Ntungamo district to Rukungiri was completed. Being a shorter route, all tourist to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park going for gorilla tracking and Ishasha sector with its tree climbing lions used this bridge.

The district authorities have promised to undertake measure to stop the vandalism and also asked the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication to remedy the situation.

It is unfortunate that the high number of tourists that are visiting the region might have to drop due to the increased costs of travel as a result of the detour to these safari destinations. It is high time the body responsible for tourism and the Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Industry acted really fast to curb the situation.

For gorilla tracking tours, Bwindi national park tour and Uganda tours contact the Uganda safari company

For those who want to do a Uganda birding safari, gorilla tours, primate safari and Rwanda safari

In Rwanda which was a add-on destination to the major tourist destinations of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, there has been such an increase in the number of tourists visiting the country in the recent years further boosting its economy. Rwanda has seen an increase in the number of available rooms to 3,282 from a mere 2,391 in 2007. The ORTPN, which is the body charged with overseeing the tourism industry in Rwanda intends to partner with the private sector and further increase the number of rooms available by 416 before the end of this year.

Rwanda’s major tourist attraction are the mountain gorillas which are found only in the three Great Lakes countries of Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Gorilla tour is Rwanda’s major tour activity and a visit to this tiny landlocked country without gorilla trekking is a real waste to say the least. As a result the ORTPN, organizes an annual ceremony, the “Kwita Izina”, in which the new born baby gorillas are CHRISTEN, attracting thousands of locals and international celebrities from as far as Hollywood. Last year alone, Rwanda earned 42.3 million USD from tourism. Early this month, Rwanda saw its tourism revenues sky rocket beyond its expectations of 68 million USD to 80 million USD, that is a whooping 12 million USD extra. This accounts for about 3.7% of Rwanda’s Gross Domestic Product. This figure which was announced by the ORTPN means tourism is Rwanda’s leading foreign exchange earner. The tradition top foreign exchange earners such as coffee and cotton which grossed 35.6M USD and 31.5M USD respectively in 2007 have been leapfrogged.
The influx of tourists to Rwanda has increased by 3.4% and it is expected that in 2009 the country will earn over 148 million USD with about 884,220 tourist coming into the country in the next six months.

This increase in the tourism revenue is mainly attributed to gorilla tours. Mountain gorilla tracking is the main tour attraction in this tiny country which is now Africa’s most densely populated. Annually, thousands of tourists flock this tiny landlocked country to do gorilla trekking in Parc des Volcanoes and also during the baby gorilla naming ceremonies which is usually graced by international celebrities from across the globe.
For your:

• Rwanda tour
• Uganda Safari
• Uganda gorilla tour

This was a chilling pronouncement on the state of primates which was released by the International Primatological Society during its twenty second congress held in Edinburgh. The major threat coming from the destruction of forests which are the habitats.

The destruction of the primates’ habitat such as the tropical rain forests majorly through clearing and burning which also negatively affects the atmosphere through the of greenhouse gases ( accounting for 20 percent ) possess the greatest threat these primates. This coupled with the need for bushmeat by the local hunting communities as well as the trafficking ot wildlife are causing great danger to the population of apes.

Jean Vie ChristopheI the deputy head of International Union of Conservationists Network species programme said that what is transpiring in southest Asia is horrifiing with over 90 percent of the primates species facing extinction especially in Cambodia and Vietnamn. Almost 70 percent of primates in Asia are classified as endangered, critical or vulnerable in the endangered list of species, implying they could face extinction soon.

Hunting for bushmeat as food and the trade in animals in Asia especially in China as pets and sources of medicine has only worsened the situation with the numbers of leaf monkeys, gibbons, golden monkeys, langurs and other species deminishing at a high rate.

In Africa for example, out of the 13 subspecies of red colobus monkeys, 11 subspecies are already enlisted as critically endangered whereas about 2 are presumed extinct. In other parts of the world, the situation is getting worse for primates with mountain gorillas, mouse lemurs are struggling to avoid extinction.

The president of conservation International, Russel Mittermeier A. said that they have solid data to prove that the situation is getting quite severe than they had previously imagined with reports that primates like Procolobus Badius waldroni that is Miss Waldron’s Red Colobus and the Procolobus pennantii bouvieri also known as Bouvier’s Red colobus monkey have not been seen for 20 and 25 years respectively.

The destruction of tropical rain forests and hunting for bushmeat are the major threat to the population of primates although in some parts where the habitats are still in good condition the hunting of primates for food has almost decimated entire colonies.

Mountain gorillas are classified into four different sub species and the mountain gorillas known as Gorilla beringi beringi which have been on the critically endangered list of species are being considered by researchers to be put on the list of as a result of their increased population, thanks to a great conservation effort by the international communities in conjunction with the local governments of Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo together with the local communities surrounding the habi.

However, in about March, 2007 a total of eight of these mountain gorillas were killed and unfortunately one of the rangers seemed to have a hand in this and was arrested. This coupled with a the prevailing rebel activities in the region has further setback the conservation efforts in the region.

The review which was financed by the Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundations, the International Union of Conservationists Network, Conservation International and Disney’s Animal Kingdom was part of the study of the world’s mammals.

To View Primates in Africa

• Gorilla tracking tour
• Gorilla safari
• Primate watching tour
• Uganda safari
• Africa safaris

Early this month however, a French tourist, Debrisson de Lorach Daniel Patrick a 32 year old young man died while climbing the Rwenzoris. This was just 737 meters shy of the highest peak, Margherita at Kitandara hut.

According to the Public Relations officer of the Uganda Wildlife Authority, anyone wanting to trek any of these mountains needs to show a clean bill of health before they can be allowed to hike. Debrisson’s health report showed that he was in good shape and had no signs of complications. Bonabana Xevier, the guide said Debrisson started complaining of illness at Bujuku camp near Elena hut. He was then advised to discontinue his ascent however, he insisted saying he would get better. However, when his condition deteriorated Debrisson with his porter and the guide had to begin the descent to Kitandara from where things got worse and the Uganda Wildlife Authority rescue team was called in to offer first aid and bring him down the mountains however, he died before they could bring him to hospital. His body was later retrieved from the jungles of the mountains by a team over 80 members of the Rwenzori Mountaineering Services which runs business in the central Rwenzori.
The cause of his death has not yet been ascertained. Police said that the documents found on him showed that he was a French citizen working in China. The public relations officer of the Uganda Wildlife Authority notified the French Embassy who immediately dispatched officials to Kilembe mines hospital in Kasese district where the body of Debrisson was transferred to.

What happened is regrettable, since mountains offer a lot by way of development to the local communities within the region and to the government of Uganda as well.

For your Uganda safari and Wildlife tours
Technorati Profile

Another factor affecting the conservation of gorillas is the dealing in charcoal by the local communities in the protected areas. The locals are destroying the habitats of the mountains by cutting down trees to make charcoal which is used as fuel for cooking.
To help protect these gorillas we raise awareness by offering; gorilla tracking tours, Uganda gorilla tour and Rwanda gorilla tour to Bwindi national park and Parc Des Volcanoes

When asked by journalists the Kibaale Conservation Area Chief Warden, Mr. Charles Tumwesigye said the plantations where destroyed because the residents had defied a one ultimatum issued by the Uganda Wildlife Conservation authorities to the people that had encroached on the protected area which was issued in February 2007. Mr. Charles Tumwesigye said that the planting of crops without building houses was indication the people knew they were encroaching on protected land.

For a Semliki national park tour or Uganda national parks tour visit the Uganda safari company.

The mountains that have been identified are Mountain Rwenzori in the west, Mount Moroto in the north east, Mountain Elgon in the East and Mount Muhabura in the south east. It is through ventures like these that the country is sure to not only protect but also increase the livelihood of the communities around these mountains through the improvement of the infrastructure.

This was announced by the state minister for Tourism, Trade and Industry, Mr Rukundo who became the first government minister to climb the Rwenzoris upto the Nyabitaba camp. It is recommended that it is imperative to have good knowledgeable guides and that the huts and accommodation facilities should be improved upon by the park officials of the four mountains.

Rwenzori mountains the most popular of the four has a bed capacity of 75 with about 1000 tourists visiting every year. However, according to Mr. Guma, the senior warden they intend to open five routes to the mountain and also increase the standards of the huts and facilities so as to see an increase in the number of tourists visiting the park.

For hiking mountain Rwenzori and Uganda Safari visit the Uganda guided tours company.

Mountain gorilla tour, mountain gorillas