Can National Parks deliver in a modern world? Cases from Mikumi National Park in Tanzania and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda By Karoline Jacobsen Kvalvik and Katusiime Ritah Bitariho Master Thesis in International Development Studies Norwegian University of Life Sciences Department of International Environment and Development Studies, Noragric 2011 i The Department of International Environment and Development Studies, Noragric, is the international gateway for the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB). Eight departments, associated research institutions and the Norwegian College of Veterinary Medicine in Oslo. Established in 1986, Noragric‟s contribution to international development lies in the interface between research, education (Bachelor, Master and PhD programmes) and assignments. The Noragric Master theses are the final theses submitted by students in order to fulfil the requirements under the Noragric Master programme “International Environmental Studies”, “Development Studies” and other Master programmes. The findings in this thesis do not necessarily reflect the views of Noragric. Extracts from this publication may only be reproduced after prior consultation with the author and on condition that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation contact Noragric. © Karoline Jacobsen Kvalvik, June 2011 [email protected] © Katusiime Ritah Bitariho, June 2011 [email protected] Noragric Department of International Environment and Development Studies P.O. Box 5003 N-1432 Ås Norway Tel.: +47 64 96 52 00 Fax: +47 64 96 52 01 Internet: http://www.umb.no/noragric ii DECLARATION We, Karoline Jacobsen Kvalvik and Katusiime Ritah Bitariho, declare that this thesis is the result of our research and sources of information other than our own have been acknowledged. This work has not been previously submitted to any other university than the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB) for award of any type of academic degree. Date: Date: Signature: Signature: Karoline Jacobsen Kvalvik Katusiime Ritah Bitariho iii To our parents; Magnar Kvalvik, Tone Jacobsen Kvalvik and Mr. Bitariho Deogratias; and Ritah‟s husband Svein Bjarne Sandvik In memory of Joy Muhawe Bareshya iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are eternally grateful to our supervisor, Professor Pål Olav Vedeld for his guidance, supervision and support throughout this research. Pål, your dedication, rigour, patience and understanding gave us direction and confidence to accomplish our study. We believe you are the best supervisor any student could ever have. We wish to express our appreciation to the PAPIA project for financing the fieldwork and giving us the opportunity to carry out researches in Tanzania and Uganda. Many thanks to David Tumusiime, Liv Ellingsen, Tami, Justus Tindigarukayo, Ingunn Bohmann, Fred Kisame, Guma Nelson, Robert Bitariho and Pedson Baluku for their continuous academic support. Special thank to Mukundi for proof reading and academic advice. We are truly thankful for the valuable time, conversations and help people and employees of MINAPA and BINP management provided. Park rangers in both parks did an amazing job by helping us with our questionnaires. From Karoline My deepest gratitude goes to my family - my father for all the urgent phone calls, always listening to me and pushing me in the right direction, my mother for constant encouragement and always believing in me, my sister‟s optimism and my brother‟s good advices. As Henry Ford expressed it: “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” To my dear Ritah; you have been patient, positive, strict when time was running out, and great company and entertainment during endless hours at Sør. You and Svein did not only put a roof over my head, but you fed me, cared for me and brought me into your lives. I am really looking forward to work with you again. I appreciate the great help provided from a number of people in Tanzania. A special thank to my local supervisor, Dr. Abdallah, for guidance, encouragement and endless assistance in the field. Additionally, I extend my thanks to Mr.Shemkunde (present Park Chief Warden in Mikumi National Park) for allowing me into the park and making this fieldwork possible. Further I would like to thank Mr. Meoli for long conversations about everything and nothing. Mr and Mrs Mwampeta, I am grateful for your generosity, for introducing me to the park staff and for helping me and my fellow researchers. I would also like to thank my interpreters, Joan and Naomi, for great work and company. Furthermore, I would like to thank my good friends for their support during my studies. Malin, Renate, Trond, Anne-Sofie, Merethe, Adrian, Linn and Harry Potto, thanks for the motivation and kind words. In particular, thank you Cecilie for your great support during the v last two years; you know how to deal with me when I am angry, happy, sad, bizarre, hyperactive and lost. You always get me back on track. The research in Mikumi National Park would have been impossible without the support from the Boon-girls at ABRU. Hana, thank you for introducing me to Mikumi National Park and all her friends, bringing me on journeys to wild places and teaching me how to survive in the bush. Hilary, thank you for welcoming me with open arms, listening, making bad days better, giving me guidance and endless offers of tea. From Ritah My sincere gratitude goes to my dear husband, Svein Bjarne Sandvik, for the great support throughout my entire study. You have managed to accommodate and share my joys, excitements, frustration, tantrums and experiences. I will forever appreciate your practical help, encouragement and kindness during this period. Special thanks also go to the entire Sandvik family members, their spouses and children. Thank you for the love, care and support. I cannot thank you enough for opening your homes to me, especially whenever I was tired of being in Ås. Being a part of your lives has made me a better person. To my dear colleague, Karoline, you are the best partner anyone can ever have regarding team work. Thank you for your brilliant ideas, for cheering me up whenever I thought things were not going my way, for being my friend and for the crazy and exciting fun we always have. I hope to work with you on another project. I acknowledge the enormous support I received from the managers at Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), particularly those from Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP). Thank you for permitting me to conduct my fieldwork in one of your most precious national parks and for providing all the necessary information during the entire study. This thesis would not have been written if it were not for the cooperation of the participants at Faculty of Forestry in Makerere University, ITFC, CTPH, NGOs, communities of Bunhoma, Ruhija and Nkuringo, and camp and hotel employees. Thank you very much for your time, effort and interest while providing all the necessary information relevant to this project. I thank my research assistant, Apollo, for the efficient endeavours and excellent knowledge of the research area. Many thanks go to my father, sisters and relatives. Without your emotional and technical support, I would never be encouraged to continue this far. Immense gratitude goes to my friends; Veronicah, Stella, Tendai, Maya, Rita, Tinah, Martin, Siri, Mukundi, Tami, Sarah, Loyce, Cecilie, Potto and Charlotte Dahl for being there for me. Thanks for the care, support and encouragement you gave me. I truly appreciate. vi ABSTRACT Tanzania and Uganda are two countries in Africa with an outstanding abundance of biodiversity. This biodiversity is usually conserved in Protected Areas such as national parks. Mikumi National Park (MINAPA) and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP) are of great international importance because of their ecological qualities. MINAPA and Selous Game Reserve form a unique eco-system and together, they hold one of the largest populations of wild elephants. BINP has exceptional biodiversity but its international conservation value mostly emanates from being home to the endangered mountain gorillas. The park as an organisation has increasingly become responsible for delivering biodiversity conservation, tourist products and economic development, and also contributes to poverty alleviation around the park. This study looks at, if the park as an organisation and institution is equipped to deliver in all these areas. We have analysed MINAPA and BINP and also looked at how practical cases of major problems faced by the two parks are handled by the management. The parks are semi-autonomous, but still they have quite strict chains of command throughout their management system. They are guided by formal rules and procedures according to management plans such as the General Management Plan. The division of labour is composed of diverse expertise and the parks‟ physical structures are mostly underdeveloped and underfunded. This leads to both parks delivering more in areas of biodiversity conservation and control of poaching, than in tourism and community conservation. Furthermore, policies for these areas are present in the parks, but their implementation is ineffective, leading to institutional failure. Both national parks are surrounded by human settlements, whose integration in management has had both positive and negative consequences. During our fieldwork, we discovered that MINAPA and BINP employees hold strong conservation values and follow strict norms relating to conservation. In addition to biodiversity conservation, TANAPA and UWA have improved and increased community conservation and participation as one of their main values. However, employees in the parks do not share the latter core value with their park authorities. Further, our results also indicate that local people‟s values are linked to the utilisation of park resources, which conflict with park management and its internal stakeholders‟ values. This creates major challenges for both parties. Local people surrounding MINAPA and BINP express that park authorities do not carry out enough actions to address their concerns, whereas park staff claim that they are incapable of responding to all local people‟s demands.