What drives wildlife crime in Uganda?

A new report into the drivers and impacts of wildlife crime in Uganda was launched on Wednesday, 8 July
Press release, 14 July 2015

The report was created by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Imperial College Conservation Science (ICCN) and Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), and presented by Andrew Seguya, executive director of UWA.

'Wildlife crime: a review of the evidence on drivers and impacts in Uganda', seeks to address such questions as what drives a person to poach an elephant for its ivory, or an antelope for its meat? Does wildlife crime actually benefit people living in poverty, or do organised gangs of poachers or loggers make their lives a misery?

What is the impact of different "carrot and stick" approaches to dealing with wildlife crime such as arrests and fines, or livelihood projects such as giving people goats? Do they affect levels of wildlife crime at all?

There are few opportunities to earn a decent wage in rural areas in Uganda; some people resort to illegal but profitable means, including selling bushmeat, timber or ivory. The report contains evidence showing how, in some cases, corruption among officials can help this illegal trade. 

Other drivers include cultural traditions surrounding natural resource use in Uganda. For example, some people around Queen Elizabeth National Park believe that a new bride will not conceive until she has consumed hippo meat. 

In addition, the report has also highlighted areas where evidence is seriously lacking, particularly around the effectiveness of interventions against wildlife crime. This is in part due to the limited monitoring of law enforcement efforts, or interventions designed to provide local benefits from conservation, making their impact on either local poverty or wildlife crime hard to determine.

The report is the first outputs of a wider project which seeks to build capacity for responding to wildlife crime in a way that does not inadvertently penalise poor people. Research is currently ongoing around Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls National Parks to better understand who poaches and why, and what interventions local people think are effective in combating wildlife crime.  

Resources:

Evidence review report: Wildlife crime: a review of the evidence on drivers and impacts in Uganda

The report's key findings are summarised in a presentation on IIED's SlideShare site.

Project background

This project is a collaboration between IIED, Imperial College Conservation Science, the Wildlife Conservation Society in Uganda and Uganda Wildlife Authority. This work is funded through the UK government's Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund.

Contact

Dilys Roe, biodiversity team leader – email: dilys.roe@iied.org 

Notes to editors

The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) is an independent, non-profit research institute. Set up in 1971 and based in London, IIED provides expertise and leadership in researching and achieving sustainable development (see: www.iied.org).

For more information or to request an interview, contact Simon Cullen: 
+44 7503 643332 or simon.cullen@iied.org