Experts call for cultural inclusion in new wildlife policy

KAMPALA - Wildlife experts and conservationists are urging the Government of Uganda to integrate cultural heritage and indigenous knowledge into the country’s revised Wildlife Management Policy, (2025-2034).

Ignoring or sidelining traditional custodians of biodiversity, they say, could undermine the country’s conservation efforts in many ways.

This call follows the release of a new policy brief by the Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda (CCFU), which highlights critical gaps in the current 2014 Wildlife Policy, particularly the limited recognition of cultural leaders, heritage sites and community-based conservation practices in wildlife stewardship.

“Cultural leaders are key front-line custodians of biodiversity. And excluding them from conservation governance could undermine conservation efforts, systems of identity, heritage and a sense of belonging, CCFU executive director Barbra Babweteera said.

Consultations, culture-conservation disconnect

According to Babweteera, they undertook community consultations in the regions of Rwenzori (Kasese and Bunyangabu) and Bunyoro (Kikuube, Kagadi-Muhooro, Kakumiro).

Babweteera said the discussions involved cultural and religious leaders, representatives indigenous minority communities (IMGs), clan members, private forest owners, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), National Forestry Authority (NFA), the tourism ministry (MoTWA) and other civil society actors.

“These dialogues affirmed the invaluable role of culture in wildlife stewardship and sustainable conservation,” she explained, adding that cultural leaders are key front-line custodians of biodiversity conservation in Uganda.

“Therefore, their exclusion from conservation governance not only threatens ecological sustainability but also undermines systems of identity, belonging, and heritage that have long protected our natural resources,” she stated.

New Vision Online obtained a summary of key findings of these consultations, revealing significant disconnect between cultural practices and conservation efforts.

According to findings, traditional leaders and clan-based taboos for Abathangyi and Abanyanja clans in Bunyoro, have historically protected species such as chimpanzees yet their efforts have not been recognised in the conservation efforts of the country.

The findings further highlight how the current compensation and resettlement models rarely take into account the cultural and ancestral values of sacred forests and cultural landscapes.

It also argues that reliance on market-based compensation alone, and disregarding cultural values, could increase land-related conflicts, undermine conservation trust, and escalate human-wildlife conflict.

In addition, private forests, formerly used for ritual and medicinal purposes, now serve as crucial habitats for chimpanzees but remain under threat due to weak protections.
Lastly, the brief warns that reliance on market-based compensation alone, and disregard for cultural values, could increase land-related conflicts, undermine conservation trust, and escalate human-wildlife conflict.

Barbra Babweteera (L), the Executive Director -CCFU hands over a copy of the findings and recommendations to a UWA official.

Recommendations

However, the CCFU report suggests that Uganda’s Wildlife Policy Reform (2025–2034) should institutionalise cultural leadership by officially recognising and engaging cultural leaders in wildlife conservation and governance at all levels.

They further recommend the integration of indigenous knowledge systems and align conservation strategies with local traditions and community-based models to improve human-wildlife coexistence.

In addition, they want to see a more culturally sensitive compensation and resettlement plan by developing frameworks that respect the non-monetary and cultural value of heritage sites.

Still, they suggest equitable benefit-sharing to include cultural institutions in benefit-sharing models such as Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) and community infrastructure development.

Another recommendation is to have inclusive public-private partnerships (PPPs) by establishing culturally inclusive PPPs to jointly manage wildlife corridors and sacred landscapes.

At the global stage, the Emirates Declaration on Culture-Based Climate Action, adopted at COP28, reinforces the integration of culture into climate and conservation policies.

“So, these recommendations are in line with this global framework, affirming that environmental conservation and cultural heritage preservation are interdependent, not competing, priorities,” Babweteera explained.

Commissioner wildlife conservation

During a national stakeholders’ dialogue held at Onomo Hotel in Kampala, recently, George Oweyesigire, the Ag. Commissioner, wildlife conservation, who represented the tourism minister, lauded CCFU for the research done, saying it will contribute to what the ministry already has in making comprehensive wildlife policies.

To improve the tourism sector in Uganda, Oweyesigire suggests that the Government must not only depend on natural resource-based tourism but to move a stride further to other sectors which can improve the country’s incomes.

“And one of the areas which we are eyeing is culture-based tourism because these cultural institutions like the Rwenzururu, Bunyoro, Buganda and others have a rich history and connection to different trees and animals. So if we engage them properly and are well stipulated in the policy then the country is going to benefit,” he said.

Oweyesigire further advised the CCFU researchers to detail their findings to highlight in depth what key stakeholders like private forest owners, indigenous communities, and cultural institutions want.

“For example, in terms of benefit sharing and collaboration. How much do they want, what kind of collaboration do they want, etc, this will inform a good inclusive policy formulation,” he said.

Representatives from government ministries, departments and agencies, civil society organisations, cultural leaders, private forest owners, community members from the Rwenzori and Bunyoro sub-regions, and the media,  attended the dialogue.