Free park entry campaign to boost conservation efforts
"UWA buses shall be stationed at the entrance of the mentioned parks to allow community members a seamless game drive within the said protected areas," Masaba added.
Part of the media and social media team that was set off to popularise the free park entry campaign. (Photos by Julius Luwemba)
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A select team of mainstream and social media influencers was on Monday (September 15) flagged off to visit Murchison Falls National Park, Pian Upe Game Reserve and Kidepo Valley National Park.
The group is expected to assess conservation efforts within these protected areas and promote the tourism products and experiences available there.
The team was flagged off by Stephen Sanyi Masaba, the senior manager in charge of tourism and business services at the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), during a briefing at the authority’s headquarters in Kamwokya, Kampala.
Although Uganda is blessed with an abundance of wildlife species, beautiful weather and a variety of landscapes, the country has in the past suffered severe poaching. Combined with the political instability of the early 1980s, this wiped out some species, such as the black and white rhinos and devastated several others.
During his handover on April 3, 2025, the retired UWA executive director, Sam Mwandha, identified poaching and human–wildlife conflict as persistent conservation challenges.
"With the problem of poaching, sometimes our own staff get involved. We need to find a way of disciplining them in order to reduce poaching cases and the piles of wire snares plus wheel traps, especially in the savannah parks," Mwandha said.
Tourist vehicles parked for occupants to catch a glimpse of the tree climbing lions in Queen Elizabeth national park last year.
He advised his successor to prioritise community awareness programmes as a sustainable way of reducing human–wildlife conflict.
Open park days
In 2024, UWA introduced a free park entry campaign, granting the general public free access to Uganda’s savannah parks. The campaign aimed to highlight UWA’s conservation efforts and strengthen relationships with communities living around protected areas.
"In that regard, we look forward to improving our relationship with the communities," Masaba noted.
This year, UWA has again extended free entry to East African citizens and foreign residents in Uganda. The offer covers Queen Elizabeth, Kidepo Valley, Murchison Falls, and Lake Mburo National Parks, as well as Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve. The campaign seeks to increase awareness of Uganda’s natural heritage and encourage more domestic tourism.
"UWA buses shall be stationed at the entrance of the mentioned parks to allow community members a seamless game drive within the said protected areas," Masaba added.
UWA’s executive director, Dr James Musinguzi, noted that both domestic and international visitor numbers have risen steadily thanks to efforts by the Ministry of Tourism, the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) and the private sector.
"While recovering from the COVID-19 period, our parks registered 189,988 visitors in 2021. This number increased to 367,869 tourists in 2022 before shooting up to 387,914 in 2023 and 436,767 visitors in 2024," he said.
Musinguzi highlighted the government’s ten-fold growth strategy to achieve $500 billion in gross domestic product by 2040.
He said the plan relies heavily on agro-industrialisation, tourism, minerals and science, technology and innovation.
"This places a very big responsibility onto the Uganda Wildlife Authority to make sure that the government realises this plan. We hence believe that campaigns such as open park day will help us foster that mandate as communities around the protected areas will continue understanding and appreciating the benefits of our national parks," he explained.
On broader conservation plans, Musinguzi emphasised strengthening action against poachers, while prioritising community engagement as a long-term solution.