Murchison Falls National Park, Bugungu Wildlife Reserve and Karuma Wildlife Reserve Form Murchison Falls Protected Area
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Uganda Wildlife Authority prepared this General Management Plan with funds from Oil for PREAMBLE Uganda Wildlife Authority prepared this General Management Plan with funds from Oil for Development (OFD) Program a bilateral agreement between Government of Uganda and Norway under the project, “Strengthening the management of Oil and Gas Sector in Uganda” Prepared by: Uganda Wildlife Authority: Conservation Department Edited by: Uganda Wildlife Authority Planning Unit Layout and Design: Edgar Buhanga Justine Namara Cover photograph: Murchison Falls Enchanted Prairie Dog i ii APPROVAL The Uganda Wildlife Authority Board of Trustees approved this General Management Plan for implementation at its 21st sitting of 31st January 2014. Mr. Benjamin Otto Dr. Andrew G. Seguya Chairman, Board of Trustees Executive Director iii FOREWORD Preparation of General Management Plans (GMPs) for Protected Areas is a statutory requirement. Uganda Wildlife Authority recognizes the importance of planning as a management tool and is systematically preparing GMPs for all her Protected Areas (PA’s) to realize their potential in biodiversity conservation, tourism development and contribute towards poverty reduction. For Murchison Falls Protected Area, it has been ten years since we last penned off the last management plan. Ten years have been years of great achievements for the park which has seen tremendous increase in wildlife numbers, visitor numbers with corresponding increase in revenue earnings from a paltry 1billion shillings in 2001 to over 6bn in 2011. The revenue sharing benefit to the communities surrounding us has consequently increased as a result. However this positive outlook has not been without challenges. The discovery of oil reserves and the high hydro-power potentials that are currently being explored are putting a strain on the park and the organization at large in coping with negative impacts associated with the developments within the park. This General Management Plan is therefore aimed at providing Murchison Falls Protected Area with guidance towards sustainable management of the natural ecosystems for their proper functioning in order to provide the services and ensuring a critical balance between the conservation and development needs of the country. The mission of Uganda Wildlife Authority is to “conserve, economically develop and sustainably manage the wildlife and Protected Areas of Uganda in partnership with neighboring communities and other stakeholders for the benefit of the people of Uganda and the global community”. Accordingly, the preparation of this plan was through a multidisciplinary and consultative approach involving various stakeholders at community, district, national and regional levels to ensure that all relevant issues were adequately addressed. The Planning Team that prepared this GMP was composed of UWA staff as well as other stakeholders from the local governments of the 6 districts in which MFPA falls. A consultative process brought on board resource user groups, local community leaders, district leaders, the tourism stakeholders, researchers and private sector representatives. The UWA Board of Trustees after careful review has also endorsed the implementation of this plan by their approval at their sitting on 31st January 2014 at UWA headquarters. This plan that is therefore a product of wide consultations will enjoy the support of all stakeholders, to enhance the achievement of conservation and management objectives of Murchison Falls Protected Area for the benefit and enjoyment of the present and future generations. It is therefore with great pleasure that I now entrust the Conservation Area Manager of Murchison Falls Conservation Area, with the authority to implement this General Management Plan. Dr. Andrew G. Seguya EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR iv ACKNOWLEDGMENT Uganda Wildlife Authority acknowledges the Government of Norway through the Oil for Development project for contributing financial support to the preparation of this General Management Plan (GMP). Special thanks go to the following people who were members of the Planning Team and worked tirelessly to prepare this GMP: Edgar Buhanga Senior Planning and EIA Coordinator Tom Okello Obong Conservation Area Manager, MFCA Justine Namara Senior Planning and EIA Officer Patrick Tushabe Product Development Executive Barugahara Bernard Community Development Officer, Buliisa Chris Gira District Community Development Officer, Oyam Nyangoma Joseline Senior Environment Officer-Hoima Businge David Community Development Officer Okwong P’Welle Program Coordinator-JCCRD, Nebbi district Okullu John Bosco LC III Chairperson, Kochgoma sub county Joshua Masereka Warden Tourism Moses Dhabasadha Warden Oil Monitoring Odokworot Walter Warden Community Conservation Eric Enyel Warden Monitoring and Research Mr. John Makombo and Mr. Charles Tumwesigye provided oversight of the whole planning process and their effort is greatly appreciated. UWA appreciates the contributions of all her staff, partners, stakeholders, local communities and members of the Board of Trustees who were involved in one way or the other in preparation of this plan. In a special way UWA appreciates the contributions of Mr. Frank Eklo and Jan-Peter Huberth Hansen of the Directorate of Nature Management, Norway, during the preparation of this plan. Last but not least, UWA acknowledges the unwavering support during the planning process of Mr. Waiswa Ayazika of the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and Mr. Ernest Rubondo, Commissioner Petroleum Exploration and Production Department (PEPD). v ACRONYMS ACAO Assistant Chief Administrative Officer AOP Annual Operations Plan BoT Board of Trustees CA Conservation Area CAM Conservation Area Manager CAO Chief Administrative Officer CBO Community Based Organisation CC Contracts Committee CCC Community Conservation Coordinator CCO Community Conservation Officer CE Chief Engineer CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora CM Concessions Manager CPI Community Protected Area Institution DAO District Agricultural Officer DC Director Conservation DCO District Commercial Officer DCDO District Community Development Officer DEO District Environment Officer DPC District Production Coordinator DRC Democratic Republic of Congo DTBS Director Tourism Business services DVO District Veterinary Officer ED Executive Director EIA Environmental Impact Assessment ENR Environment and Natural Resources GMP General Management Plan HRM Human Resource Manager IUCN World Conservation Union LG Local Government LM Legal Manager MAAIF Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries MoU Memorandum of Understanding MRC Monitoring and Research Coordinator MRO Monitoring and Research Officer NEMA National Environment Management Authority NGO Non-Governmental Organisation NFA National Forestry Authority NFP National Forest Plan PA Protected Area PAMSU Protected Area Management and Sustainable Use SPEIAC Senior Planning and Environment Impact Assessment Coordinator SPEIAO Senior Planning and Environment Impact Assessment Officer PRM Public Relations Manager RMNP Rwenzori Mountains National Park SWIC Senior Warden in Charge TM Top Management UWA Uganda Wildlife Authority WCC Warden Community Conservation WCS Wildlife Conservation Society WIC Warden in Charge WLE Warden Law Enforcement WMR Warden Monitoring and Research WT Warden Tourism WWF World Wide Fund for Nature vi EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BACKGROUND Murchison Falls National Park, Bugungu Wildlife Reserve and Karuma Wildlife Reserve form Murchison Falls Protected Area. The largest of the three is Murchison Falls National Park, straddling the Victoria Nile. Along its southern edge lie Bugungu and Karuma Wildlife Reserves. Bugungu WR includes that portion of land between the Lake Albert Escarpment and the Waiga River, and also takes a portion above the rift valley escarpment. Karuma WR forms a long strip along the southern and eastern flanks, and includes a 15 km length of the Victoria Nile as far east as Karuma Falls. To the south of Bugungu lies Budongo Forest Reserve, a portion of which overlaps with both Bugungu and Karuma WRs. In Karuma WR, a particular patch of high forest within Budongo Forest Reserve is known as ‘Kaniyo-Pabidi’. This planning effort includes the Park and the two reserves. Murchison Falls National Park covers an area of 3,893 km2, Karuma Wildlife Reserve, 678 km2 and Bugungu Wildlife Reserve, 474 km2 . The park was gazetted in 1952 while Karuma in 1964 and Bugungu in 1968. The park consists of a Ramsar site, the Delta which was designated in 2006. GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLANNING PROCESS MFPA has had a GMP for the period of 10 years (2001-2011). A mid term review was done in 2006 to assess the level of the plan implementation. An end of term review was also done at the end of the plan period. This planning effort therefore took recognition of these reviews that were carried out. It also incorporated the new ideas that came up as the stages below were carried out. MFPA GMP process followed the already established guidelines for wildlife protected areas planning spelt out in the UWA planning manual, 2000. The following steps were undertaken during this planning process. Publicizing the planning process An advert was placed in the print media to inform the stakeholders that the process of developing the management plan for MFPA had started and to solicit their views and inputs into the plan. Written comments and ideas were received and considered during planning. Team composition