Proceeds from Gorillas increase
Apr 19, 2009
GORRILAS contribute sh6.6b to the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) annually, top wildlife officials have revealed.
By Gerald Tenywa
GORRILAS contribute sh6.6b to the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) annually, top wildlife officials have revealed.
This has come as a result of the thriving gorilla tourism in the Bwindi and Mgahinga Gorilla national parks in south-western Uganda for two decades.
UWA is intending to habituate more groups of gorillas to increase the revenue to sh10b, said Moses Mapesa, the UWA executive director, during the launch of the United Nations “Year of the Gorillas†on Friday in Kampala.
The ceremony was presided over by Gagawala Wambuzi, the trade state minister. Other activities, including a concert, will be organised later in the year.
“Gorilla revenue has risen from zero shillings in 1990 to sh6.6b in 2008, accounting for 50.4% of internally generated revenue for UWA,†said Mapesa.
More than half of the endangered mountain gorillas with a population estimated at 700 are in Bwindi. The rest occupy the Virungas, which straddles Uganda (Mgahinga), Rwanda and the DR Congo.
GORRILAS contribute sh6.6b to the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) annually, top wildlife officials have revealed.
This has come as a result of the thriving gorilla tourism in the Bwindi and Mgahinga Gorilla national parks in south-western Uganda for two decades.
UWA is intending to habituate more groups of gorillas to increase the revenue to sh10b, said Moses Mapesa, the UWA executive director, during the launch of the United Nations “Year of the Gorillas†on Friday in Kampala.
The ceremony was presided over by Gagawala Wambuzi, the trade state minister. Other activities, including a concert, will be organised later in the year.
“Gorilla revenue has risen from zero shillings in 1990 to sh6.6b in 2008, accounting for 50.4% of internally generated revenue for UWA,†said Mapesa.
More than half of the endangered mountain gorillas with a population estimated at 700 are in Bwindi. The rest occupy the Virungas, which straddles Uganda (Mgahinga), Rwanda and the DR Congo.