Security of tenure is key to a vibrant tourism industry

By Geoffrey Mulindwa Batale

World over, tourism is one of the biggest foreign exchange earners for most countries. For any country, irrespective of their geographical positioning, there is always likely to be one of the following serving as a tourist attraction: national parks, museums, historical sites, hotels, recreation centres, gambling cites and sports venues. The common denominator for these attractions is the fact that they are all found on land.

If well harnessed, tourism can become a back born for any given economy as Kenya can testify, having earned $1.21b from tourism alone in 2016.

Back in Uganda, tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors with potential to outstrip all other sectors in foreign exchange earnings, let alone creating thousands of jobs for the unemployed Ugandans.

Despite its existent potential, Uganda's tourism sector continues to struggle compared to our equally if not less endowed neighbours such as Kenya or Rwanda.

Although the government and private players have done a tremendous job in uplifting the tourism industry, there are some solvable challenges that persist. For, instance, the industry is struggling with underfunding, a poor security situation which is closely associated with the political environment in the country and a poor marketing strategy for the sector at large.

According to the 2015 Auditor General's report, tourism receipts collected by Uganda Wildlife Authority fell by 24% from sh56.6b in

2013/2014 to sh42.6b in 2014/2015. This shows a decline in our tourism earnings.

Why? Most analysts and actors ignore the most critical area, security of tenure for the tourist sites and harmonious relations with local communities over land use.

Have you ever stopped to wonder about the following questions: How many tourism sites in Uganda have secure land that is titled?

How many tourist sites do we have co-existing peacefully with indigenous communities?

If you move around, many tourist sites are currently under threat either from encroachment, land grabbing or illegal logging. Many others are a tangled in legal battles with local communities. An example is the Batwa community in South-West Uganda who have been living in the Bwindi

Impenetrable Forest National park for millennia. They were displaced from their ancestral land and have had long legal battles with the government. The same is happening in Amuru district with the Apaa community.

When we think tourism, we must first consider the security of tenure. Just like other gazetted areas, all tourist sites must be secured if we are to effectively manage and develop tourism. This is very important for cultural sites such as royal tombs in Buganda, palaces, clan cites, and other historical sites in respective communities.

Bugala island found on Lake Victoria is one of the important cultural sites in Uganda and Buganda Kingdom. Lugo Forest situated on the island plays an important role in Buganda's traditions and customs. Bugala was known for its rich-biodiversity, drawing tourists from all over the world. Currently, much of the forest has been destroyed and replaced with palm oil.

Land is an inelastic factor of production and majority perceive national parks, forests, eco-reserves and other national reserves as idle land which is ripe for human settlement, agriculture and related human activities.

Statistics show that since the early 1990s, Uganda's forest cover has reduced from 24% to a miserable 8% by 2017.

For instance, the director of environment in the Ministry of Water and Environment, Paul Mafabi, told a gathering on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) in 2017 that Uganda had lost one million hectares of forest cover over the last 10 years yet the Government had planted less than 150,000 hectares, creating a deficit.

According to the state of Uganda's Forestry report 2016 released by the Ministry of Water and Environment, Overall, the country has been losing on average 122,000 ha/year of forest every year from 1990-2015. The greatest loss in the country is estimated at 250,000 ha of forests annually according to NFA estimates for the period 2005-2010.

Indeed, if we are to safeguard tourism and develop it as one of the biggest sources of income and employment, we need to protect the land by securing it legally as a tourism site. The respective authorities should endeavour to develop harmonious relationships with the local communities that have guarded these sites for centuries.

I call upon all those with land harbouring tourism sites to safeguard them and develop them for future generations.

All actors need to come out strongly to sensitize the masses about the importance of tourism and the need to protect the land on which these tourist sites are situated. This should be included in schools' curriculums so that we get a generation that appreciates and values tourism as a God-given source of income that we need to protect and harness.

The writer is a sensitisation and research officer with Buganda Land Board