Magazine of the

Ivory poaching - elephant fingerprintsConservation in action: UCF in the field

with the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA)Waterways and Dura

Ishasha – 10 years onSupporting sustainable development

in Uganda: sharing skillsGetting involved: how to support UCF’s work

2009

02

WEBALE NYO! A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OUR SPONSORS

Close partners continue tosupport our work, namely the David Shepherd WildlifeFoundation, the RuffordMaurice Laing Foundation, the Born Free Foundation, TuskTrust, British Airways AssistingConservation and in the US newpartners Disney, the RiverbanksFoundation, SeaWorld BuschGardens, International ElephantFoundation and the US Fisheriesand Wildlife Service.

We are tremendously grateful to you all for yourcontinued support.

www.ugandacf.org

CorporateMembers Uganda: Toyota Uganda • BMS MineralsFar Horizon Safaris • ComputerFacilities • Ndali Lodge • PetroUganda • City Cars Limited,Deloitte • DHL • The EyeMagazine • On CourseConsultancy (4WD) • Awaka

UKQuest Uganda • Eventworks Collyer Bristow SolicitorsClub 24 • Peter Lobbenberg &Co, accountants • Thornton’sPrinters • the Calf Pens MashamWilkin and Sons of TiptreeEdward Searle.

Uganda

DID YOU KNOW?The largest elephant ever recorded was a malethat weighed about 12,000 kilograms, with ashoulder height of 4.2 metres, a metre tallerthan the average male African elephant.

“The David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation has been working with UCF since 2001 in the Queen ElizabethProtected Area, to tackle elephant crop raiding, poaching problems and transboundary management in the Ishasha region and more recently, to combat illegal activity such as poaching and the bushmeat tradeacross Lakes Edward, George and Albert.

What sets UCF apart from most other conservation organizations is that over 90% of all the funding itreceives goes directly to project work – providing a long lasting legacy. This makes effective use of ourhard-raised funding to make a real impact on the long-term survival of endangered wildlife and thesustainability of rural communities. We support UCF because their projects are making a real difference to wildlife survival.”

www.davidshepherd.org

EXISTING PROJECTS(SEE PAGES 6-10 FOR

MORE DETAILS)

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WELCOME TO

UGANDA MATTERSThe past year has seen UCF achieve a greatdeal, especially in building our brand andreputation with donors through our proactiveand quality field work. It is now frequently said that UCF make the necessary changes,challenge the most significant problems and often are the catalyst for making thingshappen for the long term. None of this wouldbe possible without the valued support of ourdonors, volunteer Trustees, Directors and staff.

The past year has seen great progress withprojects, donations from loyal partners,fundraising events in Uganda and the UK and changes to both the Trustees and the Board of Directors.

We say farewell toTrustee Andrew Dixonwho diligently guidedUCF over the years and hosted the amazingart exhibition at theCollyer-Bristow Gallery.In Andrew’s place,

we welcome James Acworth, an internationaldevelopment and natural resource managementprofessional who has been based in Uganda for a number of years. He is an enormous asset tothe organization.

2009 sees the appointment of two newDirectors to join Lilly Ajarova, Fred Babweteeraand Jane Adong. Based in Kibale National Park, Julia Lloyd has been involved in Ugandanwildlife conservation, most especially inchimpanzee ecology, and regional developmentfor over twelve years. Harriet Fowler has manyyears’ experience working across Africa in large scale humanitarian and developmentprogrammes and is now working for a NGO in northern Uganda, an area in dire need of support and development.

The appointment of Harriet and Julia hasallowed us, reluctantly, to accept theresignation of three long-standing directors,each of whom has made a remarkablecontribution to the establishment and success of UCF over the past five years. Thank you to:

• Mark Graves, Chairman of Directors inUganda since UCF’s inception

• Patrick Shah for his tourism, accounts and finance decision-making expertise

• Jerry Burley for his logistics andconstruction industry support and never-ending enthusiasm

We wish them all well in their other growingenterprises. Firm friends of the organization, we continue to work together on an informallevel. UCF – and Uganda – owe them all anenormous debt of service.

Robert Mercer has now returned to the UK aftera two year spell in Uganda and he has beenreplaced by VSO volunteer Charlotte Beauvoisin.Thank you Robert and welcome Charlotte!

Patrick Agaba has done stalwart work on the projects in Uganda and his ability to work with the local communities, the UgandaWildlife Authority and us all is fantastic.During this past year his successes in theWaterways project include the commissioningof three more ranger boat stations and patrolboats in Queen Elizabeth National Park. Thanksto Poole Harbour Sea Survival, when fiverangers underwent trainer training and 18rangers underwent coxswain training, Patrickalso qualified as a fully certified Marine trainer!He has also overseen the continuing communityprojects to protect farmers from crop raidingelephants with the completion of a total of 14kms of trench dug and 13 valleys now fenced.The Problem Animal project in Masindi andHoima carried out with the Budongo Forestproject has also been successfully completed.

Enid Kakooko needs a special mention too, asher hard work with Trustee Phil Woodcock haspaid off immeasurably with our audits, balancesheet and requisite - and timely - submissionsto the Charities Commission. In addition toensuring the accounts are in order, Phil hasrestructured and rebuilt the UCF website, wherewe now have the ability to carry out payrollgiving, online donations and Gift Aid.

We welcome allnewcomers to engagein the next stage inUCF’s development.UCF has an excitingfuture with someimportant projects towork on includingour next challenge –recovering the Dura sector of QE. Details are featured here and on our web sitewww.ugandacf.org

Your support is invaluable and we look forwardto reporting on future successes on the groundin Uganda.

PATRICK AGABA

UGANDAN TEAM

Acknowledging our past, planning our future

CONTENTSIvory poaching -elephant fingerprintsElephant DNA. How UCF isgetting its hands dirty to tackleivory smuggling on a global level

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Conservation in action:UCF in the field withthe Uganda WildlifeAuthority (UWA)MOU signed

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Waterways and DuraHow success is being replicatedacross the area, allowing us tostart recovery of the Dura sector

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Ishasha – 10 years onThey’re singing our song. TheKikarara community thanks UCFfor our commitment to managingHuman Wildlife Conflict

PAGE 8

Supporting sustainabledevelopment inUganda: sharing skillsNurturing the environmentalists of tomorrowExciting book partnership

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Getting involved: howto support UCF’s work Find us on Facebook!

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DID YOU KNOW?In 2008 over 90% of allUCF funding went directlyto field action. UCF has astrong track record inachieving and gettingthings done.

UCF and UWA sign apartnership agreement

UCF WORKS WITH INTERPOL TO CREATEGLOBAL MAP OF ELEPHANT DNA In May Uganda’s New Vision newspaper ran the headline “Uganda is being used as a route forsmuggling ivory out of the Democratic Republic of Congo” after 100 pieces of ivory and a leopard skin were handed over to the Uganda Wildlife Authority. The ivory was found concealed in a bag of matooke (green bananas) in a bus from the DRC bound for Kampala. Indeed ivory poaching isreaching levels not seen since the CITES ban on sales in the 1980s.

The majority of ivory confiscated in Uganda is coming from eastern DRC. In Uganda UCF hasintensified the fight against this poaching with the Waterways projects thereby better controllingmovement across the Lakes. However, there is another very important and exciting project that UCF is currently implementing in conjunction with the University of Washington and Interpol: the creationof a global map of elephant DNA.

DID YOU KNOW?The combination of a rapid increase in thenumber of people in East Africa with theiraspiration for prosperity or desperate flightfrom conflict or grinding poverty is exertingsignificant pressure on the abundance withwhich nature gifted this region. Furthermore,the unpredictable but increasingly visibleeffects of climate change will make life inthe future even more uncertain.

State of East Africa Report 2008

UCF and the Uganda Wildlife Authority share commonobjectives and have over many years developed a firm and ongoing relationship, no doubt helped by the fact thatseveral of UCF’s Board have held Directorships with UWA.

Implementation of UCF’s projects would not be possiblewithout the input and cooperation of UWA and we are therefore delighted that the two organizations haverecently signed a Memorandum of Understanding, whichpaves the way for an even more successful workingrelationship in the future.

UWA had identified the elephant DNA project as a priorityproject and UCF was in a position to be ableto source funding to make it happen. Thisis just one example of where UCF has been

able to mobilize its resources to supportUWA’s work.

Other projects where UCF and UWA have been partnersin recent years include the

Waterways projects and theKikarara and Bukorwe Ridgeelephant trenches in Ishasha,southern Queen Elizabeth

National Park.

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DHL have again very kindly supported the ElephantDNA project by flying samples from Uganda to the USA

HELP SAVE MY TUSKS! We are all aware of how important DNA analysis is in crime detection in our daily lives. Who would have thought that this same technology could be used in stopping the illegal ivory trade? Well, this is just what UCF is helping to do.

Thank you toSeaWorld BuschGardens and the Born FreeFoundation for theemergency fundingprovided ($3000 &$1800 respectively)to get the projectunderway. We arelooking to raise afurther $15,000 inorder to completethe next stages ofthis project.

DID YOUKNOW?In the last 5 years the price of ivory hasrocketed with reports of Asian dealers paying in excess of US$1,000 per kilo.

Elephant poaching forivory and bushmeat inthe Democratic Republicof Congo (DRC) is placingthe remaining elephantpopulations in danger of being wiped out.

We are providing Interpol, through theUniversity of Washington in Seattle, with the means to identify the origin of ivorywherever it is confiscated or the need arises.The DNA profiles from elephants acrossUganda, Eastern DRC and Southern Sudan only need be collected once; after analysis wewill be able to identify any differences betweenthe elephants within the region and to thoseelsewhere in Africa. This project has beenwidely publicised internationally, recognisingthe significance of the work.

The DNA is collected from fresh dung, so not quite as glamorous as it might seem! TheUganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), with thesupport of UCF, has started ‘poopa scooping’elephant dung specimens from a wide area inUganda with each specimen being accuratelyrecorded on GPS (Geographical PositioningSystem). The sample itself is taken from theoutside surface of the dung (where it has been in contact with the stomach walls, and therefore the cells containing DNA).

These specimens are put into a solution in specially designed vials and then flown as quickly as possible to the University of Washington in Seattle for analysis.

What makes this project so exciting is thativory too can be analysed for its DNA, meaningthat illegal ivory confiscated around the world or ‘legitimate’ ivory being sold throughCITES, can have its true origins matched to

the profiles we are creating. Impounded ivorycan then be tested and its origin undisputedlyidentified, strengthening the hands of lawenforcers immeasurably.

Collections are relatively easy in the majornational parks of the region. However, in many regions, elephants are scarce andextremely reclusive due to previous poachingpressure. Equally parts of Northern Uganda,Southern Sudan and Eastern DRC are not easilyaccessible and our teams will be walking vastareas to find the elephants, collect the samplesand of course report back to UWA on wherethey were and what was found!

Funds are urgently needed for this programme as poaching is on the increase; illegal ivory has been impounded in Bangkok and Nairobi in the last two months, on its way to the FarEast where it is highly prized and convertedinto memorabilia and carvings. We know largeamounts of ivory are being smuggled out of the DRC.

Please help UCF stop this indiscriminatekilling of elephants which supplies the illegalivory trade. Help us keep the tusks on thesemagnificent animals where they belong.

If you’re interested in supporting this project please contact dna@ugandacf.orgMore detail about this project can be found at www.ugandacf.org

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DID YOUKNOW?Lake George is animportant InternationalBird Area (IBA). QE’sdiversity is reflected in its nearly 606 bird specieslist, the highest number of species of any protectedarea in Africa.

WATERWAYS – FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTHCOMMUNITYBENEFIT•Lives are saved afterboating accidents

•Sick people are ferried to seek medical help

•Bodies are recovered from the Lake

Acknowledgements toJerry Burley and BMSMinerals for supportingthe logistics of the marineranger station at Kashakaand Kamulikwezi.

waterways@ugandacf.org More detail about thisproject can be found atwww.ugandacf.org

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Until three years ago the Uganda WildlifeAuthority had no capability to travel on water,leaving the regions exposed to all forms ofillegal activities; poaching, bushmeat and ivorysmuggling, and illegal fishing.

With your support, UCF has just finishedconstruction of our fourth marine rangerstation (at Kamulikwezi) in Queen ElizabethNational Park, provided power boats andengines, and trained more than 30 rangers in boat handling and operations.

Boat stations in other parts of QE have provedto be successful beyond initial hopes. They are strategically placed and are reducing theelephant and hippo poaching problems acrossboth Lakes George and Edward, Bushmeatsmugglers are also struggling to evade thespeedy ranger patrols!

The removal of unlicensed boats and illegalfisherman using undersized gauge nets, catchingall fish including young ones, has meant that thelegitimate fishing communities are beginning tosee a small recovery in their catches and fishingvillage economies are gradually improving.Control of fishing in restricted areas has alsoresulted in fewer crocodiles, otters and birdsbeing caught and drowned in the nets.

The construction and equipping of the fourmarine stations across QE is only one step in a comprehensive programme. We will now befocusing on their successful operation, enablingthem to coordinate with land based patrols andwith each other.

Over the next year UCF will further equip themobile ranger patrols and provide them withlogistical support to work across the region. Theproject has provided fishing communities with a‘Lifeboat’ service that has already rescued peopleand recovered bodies after tragic accidents. Itwill also offer invaluable support to the DuraRecovery Project.

Waterways in actionLaw enforcementUWA’s visible presence reduces shorelinebushmeat smoking, waterborne bushmeatsmuggling and wildlife and ivory trafficking.

Illegal activities confronted between December2008 and May 2009 include: • 2106 fishnets confiscated• 73 canoes captured• 30 bags of charcoal confiscated• 8 suspects arrested

Lake rescue and recoveryDaily life is dangerous for people living on oradjacent to the National Parks. In two separateincidents, boys have been killed whilecollecting drinking water from Lake George: • A hippo refused to let go of the body of

a 13 year old boy it had just killed. TheKashaka boat was called out to the sceneand the animal coaxed into releasing theboy’s body.

• Another incident at Katwe involved acrocodile. Unfortunately the boy had died before UWA heard of the tragedy.

• In both cases, UWA – with the support ofUCF-funded equipment and training – wasable to help recover the bodies, allowing the families to grieve properly.

Research and monitoringOn receiving reports of a dead hippo and a dead elephant in Kasenyi, the Chief UWAVet was called from Kampala. UCF’s Kashakaboat was used to recover the carcasses forpost-mortems to be carried out to ascertain if there was a possible outbreak of Anthrax.

Thanks to the Kashaka boat, the first hippocensus across QE since the 1960s, was carriedout by UWA’s Research & Monitoring Wardenin 2007. UCF will be working with UWA onthe next survey in early 2010.

FROM TOP LEFT: TRUSTEE PHILWOODCOCK AT MWEYA BOATSTATION, MARINE RANGER TRAINING,UCF’S PATRICK AGABA WITH CURIOUSLOCAL CHILDREN AT KASHAKA

We aim to support UWA recover this 400km2

area from poaching. Right now you could walkacross the region and see no elephants andother large mammals; poaching has wiped themall out. Can we help achieve, in Dura what wehelped UWA achieve in Ishasha? – With yoursupport of course!

Kibale Forest National Park is to the north of Dura, and central QE is to the south. Bothareas have an abundance of elephant and otherwildlife that once used this area, and we hopewill soon do so again.

Dura is a pretty big wildlife corridor withagriculture to the east and west of it, and to the south, lies along the northern shores ofLake George. The trouble is that Dura has no access roads, no permanent rangeraccommodation and no tourism.

Once famous for its elephants, hippos, lion and chimpanzee, over recent decades they havebeen poached indiscriminately, almost wipingout the wildlife. The lakes were used to movethe dried bushmeat and smuggled wildlife,completely unchallenged. Devoid of the mega-herbivores, the ‘architects’ of the African bush,the habitat has changed enormously and is nowthick, almost impenetrable bush, where once it was savanna. It is essential that elephantsand hippo return to this area to restore theecosystem for the benefit of all wildlife.

UCF and UWA want to revitalize the Dura area by opening up access to it, protecting it with rangers and thus allowing wildlife to re-establish itself there.

Our work will provide the much neededfoundation for a wildlife recovery which wouldinclude our research, all necessary to develop aDura management plan to support UWA in theirsustainable recovery of the region. This wouldinclude ways of improving the region’s overalleconomic development, community skilldevelopment and job creation.

How can this be achieved? Over the next few years UWA will have rangerposts built by UCF across Dura to ensure ten rangers are permanently accommodated in the region. UCF will also make sure theranger posts and rangers are equippedwith bicycles and provided witheasy access routes into the region;the habitat is impenetrable!

On Lake George, the Waterwaysproject has already helped with thebuilding of the Kashaka andKamulikwezi Marine RangerPosts, and provision of speedboats and ranger training. Thismeans the boats can stop

poachers getting into Dura and smuggling the meat out by boat. It also means the rangerscan access Dura anywhere along the shoreline.Fantastic!

The rangers and UCF team will remove snaresfrom the whole area and carry out basicresearch to monitor the dispersal of wildlifethrough the area. We also need to work outwhether there are other things that can be done to accelerate the region’s recovery.

These actions will provide the much-neededconditions for the recovery of the Dura regionto its former wildlife rich habitat. It will alsorelieve the pressure on farmers on the bordersof the park by lessening the density of animalnumbers near cultivated areas.

UCF is grateful and proud to have the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, the International Elephant Foundation, Tusk Trust, SeaWorld Busch Gardens and the US Fish and Wildlife Service as theproject’s sponsors. Their commitment

and foresight in the value of this first step to help recover Dura aregreatly appreciated.

1. KamulikweziNorthern Lake GeorgeMarine station & jetty(under construction)

2. KashakaSouthern Lake GeorgeMarine ranger station(operational)

3. MweyaMarine station & jetty(operational)

4. RwenshamaMarine station(operational)

DURA - OUR NEXT CHALLENGE!

If you’d like to supportthis project please contactus at dura@ugandacf.orgMore detail about thisproject can be found atwww.ugandacf.org

DID YOU KNOW?Protecting hippo isimportant for the fishingvillages as the fish need afood source – hippo dung!People’s livelihoods areintertwined withconservation.

DID YOUKNOW?Dura is a Ramsar siteand Biosphere Reserve,recognizing its wetlandsand high biodiversity.

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DID YOUKNOW?Since the excavation of the Kikarara trench:

•There have been noretaliatory killings of elephants.

•51 local schoolchildrennow attend secondaryschool. Two years agothere were none.

•364 children enrolled atKikarara primary schooland 120 at the newCatholic School (only 250children attended before).

•People can even thinkabout Further Education,an option they couldn’tpreviously consider.

UCF’s Founder Michael Keigwinrecounts his story of how theorganisation came into being and traces the remarkabletransformation in the fortunes of both the elephant and localcommunities in Ishasha.In 1999, after two years in Queen ElizabethNational Park (QE) in Uganda, I became awareof the serious problems that were facing its elephants and the region’s development.Originally wanting to research this for my PhD,I quickly changed the focus of the project towork closer with the Uganda Wildlife Authority(UWA) to understand more about the problemsand how to resolve them.

Over the past 40 years, severe poaching across Uganda had killed all the rhino and most of the once famed herds of elephants that gave Uganda the reputation of having the most mega-herbivores per km2 in Africa.However, little was known about the remainderof QE’s wildlife populations, especially theelephants. Were they a viable population? How many were left and where were they?

What we did know was that people living on the perimeter of QE were suffering fromconsiderable elephant crop-raiding problems.

The Elephants, Crops and People (ECP) projectcame into being with a feasibility study, withthe cooperation of UWA. We questioned oldrangers, the communities and people who had worked in the area during its heydaybetween the 1930s and 1960s. We sought to understand the problems and threats tosouthern QE and what action could help theregion make positive steps towards recovery.

The elephantsRavaged by severe poaching for ivory duringthe 1970s and 1980s, and for bushmeat wellinto the 1990s, the wildlife in Ishasha insouthern QE was struggling to survive, let alone recover. We knew that by the 1980selephant numbers had crashed from over 3000to a mere 150. By the time ECP started nearly20 years later, we did not know how manywere left in Southern QE or if they were safe’.

ECP started conscientious research on theground, walking into every corner of QEresearching the elephants. Over time this

showed that over 800 elephants were using the Ishasha sector. Most commonly they werefound in five aggregations of between 100 to200 elephants. On one occasion I sat with oneof conservation’s true legends, Marcel Onen,and we were surrounded by over 700 elephants.Ishasha had a viable population after all!

We found that a large proportion of elephantswere under ten years old, which was staggering.But on reflection, why not? Ishasha was safe,the elephants were now living in perfectconditions and they were breeding well.

What’s more, over the past ten years, fewelephants had died. Research focused on theage structure of the population and found therewere virtually no elephants over 40 years old.This age group had been wiped out twentyyears ago for its ivory and meat. ECP alsodiscovered that no elephants had been killed for ivory for some time, though about 10 were killed by local communities annually in retaliation for crop-raiding. Elephants were, however, being killed in the DemocraticRepublic of Congo (DRC). Having found theelephants in Ishasha were recovering so well, it was clear that all they needed was continuedsecurity and good management, and researchwas not a priority.

So in 2003, ECP and UCF were pleased toconfirm to our close partners UWA, that the elephant population was viable, healthy and that the Ishasha region held not only thebiggest number of elephants in Uganda but in the whole of the Albertine Rift Valley.

The ECP team was also working on the otherserious threats to these elephants. The threat of these animals being shot every time theymoved across the international border intoDRC’s Virunga National Park was, and remains,very real. Between 1999 and 2003, it wascommon to hear over 50 gunshots a day, and those were just the ones within our earshot. We had no idea how many elephants‘transmigrated,’ how many were killed whilsttransmigrating or, indeed, if the extent of thekilling would cause a significant enough dropin numbers to make the population unviable.For UWA, every elephant was important.

Every week, whatever the weather, the ECPteam, accompanied by rangers, walked theIshasha River to monitor the elephants’distribution, numbers and direction ofmovement. We walked the river 113 times, and over the whole period found a near 400%increase in the number of elephants entering

• Ishasha’s elephant recovery• Elephant movement between the DRC and Uganda• Elephant crop raiding: a very real problem

ISHASHA - 10 YEARS ON

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River Ishasha

Queen ElizabethNational Park

Boundary

Kikararatrench

Bukorwe trench and

fencing

ECP CAMP SITE

ISHASHACUSTOMS

KAMEME

RWESIGIRO

Ishasha Sector

UgandaDRC

Uganda and – interestingly - remaining inUganda, presumably to avoid the poaching in the DRC. It seemed the tables had turned forthe elephants. At one time, they found safetyfrom the troubles in Uganda by crossing theIshasha River into the DRC and now it appearedthey were crossing from strife -ridden DRC,back to the current safety of Uganda to prosperin the safe and lush habitats of southern QE.

Although we discovered much more in ourresearch, it once again proved that, in a localityalready struggling for resources, research wasnot a priority. Improved management andconservation in the Virunga National Park mostcertainly was. To this extent, I applaud WildlifeDirect who arrived halfway through the ECPwork and continue to carry out fantastic work in the Virunga National Park. One has to remember that there is a very unstableregion and that six million people have beenkilled in eastern DRC over the past ten years.

UCF has hosted meetings with rangers andwardens from both sides of the border andcarried out regular visits to build relations. Inaddition, we have donated specific items suchas bicycles to support the rangers’ work (whichhopefully did not attract rebel groups to attacktheir posts to steal them!) Seeing the immediateimpact of these small amounts of support wasincredible. A little can go a long way.

On one of the very early meetings between the regional Wardens and the rangers of QE and the DRC, I had my mother to stay and feltconfident she would be safe to join in. She hadlast been to Ishasha 45 years earlier when herbrother was a Game Warden in Uganda. Duringthe evening, which was a little tense, she brokeinto Lingala (a rough mix of French andSwahili spoken in Eastern DRC), shocking meand totally relaxing what had been a ratherdistrustful atmosphere between the two areas’management teams.

It kicked off one of the greatest cross-borderpublic relations events I have seen. It took a goat barbeque, lots of bottles of pop anddraughts sets (made out of cardboard andbottle tops): no workshops, no per diems(expenses to attend the meeting), no guns, no booze - just good people. Those present at that meeting remain friends today.

Crop RaidingIn 1999 we had no idea of the state of theelephant populations but we did know that the local subsistence farmers living along theborder of southern QE were extremely angrybecause elephants were destroying their crops.

As the farmers walked me through their fieldsalong the edge of the park, there was evidenceof elephants and damaged crops everywhere. I imagined how difficult it would be to feed an extended family on what you grow on yourhalf an acre of land, and just how furious youwould be to have one elephant, let alone 200elephants, destroying a whole year’s work injust one or two nights.

The families along the border included manywidows and the younger generations displayedvery low literacy levels: this was because themen were guarding the crops at night andmany had died as a result of catching malaria.The children were taking over the day duties(and not going to school) whilst the men were guarding at night. When men died, the responsibility passed to the children.

Not surprisingly, the communities supportedpoachers in the park; sometimes theypoached too. They also speared andpoisoned elephants, leaving poison-soakedpineapples for example. They saw novalue in the park. On the contrary:to them, its presence was aneconomic and social threat.

We needed to understand the problem: where the crop-raiding was worst; whenit was happening and whetherit was male or female elephantswho were the culprits. To createa strategy, convince donors tofund it and have the park andcommunity working together,I set up a monitoring systemalong the whole border,based on a methoddeveloped by theAfrican ElephantSpecialist Group. Itemployed local farmers,trained by us, to recorddetails of every incidentalong the entire border. Weconfirmed each incident and gained a very clear picture of the problem.

09

michael.keigwin@ugandacf.org

Acknowledgements toJerry Burley and BMSMinerals for supportingthe logistics of fenceconstructions in Ishasha.

More detail about thisproject can be found atwww.ugandacf.org

Over 400 incidents per year were confirmed, far exceeding levels described elsewhere. It was no surprise the communities lackedtolerance. Alarmingly, the crop raiding wasdone by individual bulls, family groups andeven entire aggregations. It was all happeningat night, which we expected, as the elephantswere so nervous and reclusive by day, that they stayed hidden in the forested areas. (Ten years on, this is not the case at all as they pose for photographs!)

Having understood the problem, gained the trust and friendship of the communities and worked closely with UWA at all times, it was now time for UCF to act on the research. Despite setbacks in securing funding, we implemented a simple plan with everyone involved.

Park committees were set up for the first timeand included the community leaders, seniorwardens and rangers. Their objective was tocoordinate any work in the area, involvingeveryone and building trust. Since then wehave funded the digging of over 30km of 2m x 2m trenches and erected 13 elephant fences.

The impact of these mitigation measures hasbeen incredible. Farmers are now harvestingtheir crops, communities are now able to sendtheir children to school and community, parkand conservationist attitudes have changed.From the park’s perspective, the locals haveabandoned their support of poaching. IndeedUWA rangers, who continue to protect thearea from on-going problems, have seen a marked decline in poaching.

However, the trenches and fences alone, even if well maintained, will not stop the problem of the crop raiding in the long term. Guardrotas and alternative income streams to thegrowing of palatable crops along the parkboundary are still very necessary.

So what is next? There remain many villages with serious crop raiding problems and we continue to work to resolve them. UCF has to continueexpanding its impact along the park boundaryand encourage action-based conservation. We are resuming the monitoring of theelephant/human interactions in order to measure the impact.

What an amazing ten years it has been forsouthern QE, and especially the Ishashasector. The transformation I have seen isremarkable. It has been a privilege workingwith the game rangers, local communities andthe many dedicated people worldwide whohave helped us support the region and UWA.

In Ishasha, elephant and other wildlife numbershave recovered wonderfully. Tourism in Ishasha is now booming and that also providesemployment opportunities. Poaching is, in thisarea, mostly under control. Communities are

able to harvest their crops without theinterference of elephants, and UWA and thecommunities are working much more closelytogether. A conservation success, these resultsall stem from the original research and plauditsshould rightly be given to UWA.

UCF emerged as a consequence of the ECPprogramme. I recognised the difficulties in attracting funding for action basedconservation in areas that were scarcely known, in countries that were out of favour. We were the only organisation working withUWA in Ishasha during that whole period.

Everyone can get involved in UCF as much or as little as they like. We have a reputationfor being a ‘no nonsense’ organisation and for getting on with the job in hand. We striveto make every penny, dime or shilling countand - as you have read - 90% of funding isturned into conservation action.

I have never been paid for the work done forECP or UCF, nor have any of our dedicatedDirectors or Trustees. We just like to see theprogress, the wildlife and Uganda’s wonderfulpeople prospering. Above all we get a thrillseeing how the next generations are inspired by the majesty of the region’s wildlife.

On my last visit to the communities in July 2009, we were all stunned by thecommunity performing a song they hadwritten dedicated to UCF and me; that alone made every ounce of effort over the years wholeheartedly worthwhile.

Wonderful people.Wonderful place.Ishasha...

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DID YOU KNOW?Did you know thatUganda is losing forestcover at an alarmingrate? The recent State of Environment Report(NEMA, 2007) saysUganda’s forest cover has declined from about5m hectares in 1990 to3.7m hectares in 2005.

Deforestation is attributedto encroachment foragricultural production,wood fuel, urbanization,industrial growth,migration and a rapidpopulation increase (the3rd highest in the world).

The good news is thataccording to NationalForestry Authority,Uganda will plant millionsof trees in the next four years at a cost of$253mn, as it tries torestore dwindling forestcover from 22% of itsarea to 30%.

March 2009 saw the start of an excitingsustainability project at Kampala’s St John theBaptist Primary Teacher Training College (PTC)in Ggaba, which we hope will impact manythousands of lives over the coming years.

The Pan African Conservation Education(PACE) training and demonstration project aims to address the lack of access to educationand practical information on sustainabledevelopment and to contribute to solutions to environmental problems such as the lack ofclean drinking water and effective sanitation,malnutrition due to soil erosion and cropfailure, and respiratory diseases caused byindoor smoke pollution (through the use ofcharcoal stoves). Sanitation is a particularproblem in Ugandan schools, where insufficientaccess to clean toilet facilities contributes toschool dropout and low literacy rates, especiallyamong girls.

The long-term goal of the project is to enablenew teachers to develop practical skills forsustainable development, creating a rippleeffect of influence on the children and

communities they encounter during their teaching careers.

With funding from Tusk Trust’s PACEprogramme the PTC has alreadyinstalled water tanks for rainwaterharvesting, to maximize the amountof water it can collect during thisyear’s rainy season. Work starts soonon construction of the compostingtoilets, which will not only improvethe schools’ facilities but show thetrainee teachers in very practical termshow they can minimize their impacton the environment.

UCF’s role is to help ensure projectimplementation on a day to day basisand we are delighted to be associatedwith such a practical and forward-thinking environmental project.

More detail about this project can be found at www.ugandacf.org andwww.paceproject.net

SUPPORTING SUSTAINABLEDEVELOPMENT IN UGANDACreating a ripple effect of good environmental practice across East Africa

UCF invests in futureenvironmentalistsUCF is currently supporting the final year research projectof undergraduate Susan Kyasiimire, a Wildlife and ForestryResources Management student at Nkumba University on“The role of indigenous knowledge in the conservation ofUganda's National Parks” a Royal Geographical Society-funded research proposal.

We wish her every luck with her studies.

UCF is pleased to announce a partnership with MonkeyLou Ltd, to promote ourshared message. Author GilJohnson is writing a series of books with an engagingmonkey hero and an environmental message for childrenaged 4-8. The third book in the series "Monkey Lou andthe Two Bad Elephants" - and the first to mention the linkwith UCF - is available now, priced £5.99.

For more details on these books, visitwww.monkeylou.co.uk

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Here at Quest we’re specialists in organising safaris tailored to yourneeds. Uganda and Rwanda have some of the most spectacularwildlife and scenery on the planet. Whether it’s your dream to seegorillas or big cats in their natural habitat, or you simply want toexplore the extraordinary beauty of Africa, we can make your wildestdreams a reality.

T: 07979 917700Email: info@questuganda.com www.questuganda.com

PROUD TO BE SUPPORTERS OF THE UGANDA CONSERVATION FOUNDATION

Monkey Louand the TwoBad Elephants

A SPECIAL THANKS TO...

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DID YOUKNOW?It’s very easy to make a donation to UCF using our secure onlinepayment facility atwww.ugandacf.org

DONATE ONLINE AND ‘MAKE A DIFFERENCE’ TOTHE PEOPLE, WILDLIFE AND HABITATS OF UGANDA.

Why?UCF project work is generously supported by grants sourced through a number ofinternational organisations, to which we are extremely grateful, but we also rely upon personal donations from supporters tocontinue our work in Uganda.

UCF has no paid workers in the UK and only a small team in Uganda comprising two

Ugandan nationals and a VSO volunteerso our costs are kept

as low as possible.

How?Donations can be made at our websitewww.ugandacf.org by credit or debit cardthrough our link with Charities Aid Foundation.They provide a secure platform for onlinedonations and the facility to add Gift Aid toincrease the value of your donation to UCF with no extra cost to yourself.

Also a big thanks to: RMIS, Dave Warden Design(www.dave.warden.btinternet.co.uk)and the Trustees of UCF for their time and in-kind donations to Uganda Matters

visit www.ugandacf.orgto see the pics and full reports!

‘MAKE A DIFFERENCE’DONATE AT

WWW.UGANDACF.ORGTODAY!

UCF EMPLOYED LOCAL PEOPLE TO ERECT THE FENCE TO PREVENT ELEPHANT CROP RAIDING AT ISHASHA

Patrick MavrosIn June Patrick Mavros kindly hosted a UCF fundraiser at his flagship gallery on the Fulham Road in London. Patrick is a well known sculptor from Zimbabwe with a passion for African wildlifeconservation and he kindly let us use the gallery free of charge on the night. Over £5000 was raisedin a stunning setting and a thoroughly good evening was enjoyed by all. Many thanks indeed toPatrick and family.

Collyer BristowUCF would like to take this opportunity to thank the partners of UK law firm Collyer Bristow forhosting a fund-raising art exhibition in support of the charity. Their generosity, and the support ofthe artists who participated, of BA and of sponsors Arbuthnot Latham and Quest Uganda, aregratefully acknowledged.

Hamish Mackie, Sculptor and Skinner of Savile Row, William and Son, Cameron Cavendish FineWines, Dominique Salm, Paulo Akiiki, Picture Post, Wensleydale Galleries, Mr and Mrs Lewis, Dr Judith Brown, Mrs Y C Autie, Dr H M Pepper, Mr J Wilson, David Ridsdale, Upthank Farm,Philip Cayford QC, Gillian Graves, Roni Madhvani, British High Commissioner Francois Gordon, Andrea Hunter, Alan Forward

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BEON OUR MAILING LIST?Or do you know someone else who would like toreceive a copy of Uganda Matters by email?

Simply fill out the form below and send to:Uganda Conservation FoundationUganda: P.O. Box 34020, KampalaUK: Low Mains Farm, Masham, North Yorkshire HG4 4PS

Name:

Organisation:

Address:

Tel: Mobile:

Email:

I picked up my copy of Uganda Matters in:

�� Uganda �� UK �� USA

We’d like to keep you up to date with developments at UCF using the information that you havesupplied above. Our preferred method of contact is by email. If you are happy for us to contact youand keep your personal details on our system, please tick this box. ��

Note: we will not share your details with any other organisation.

Printed copies of Uganda Matters are free to members. Membershipalso entitles you to claim 10% deduction from merchandise andChristmas Cards (only should you wish to claim it!) The followingtypes of membership are available:

UgandaUK USA Shillings

Individual membership £20 $30 20,000/=

Family membership £35 $50 50,000/=

Corporate membership £300 $500 1,000,000/=

GIFT AID DECLARATIONGift Aid means donations from UK taxpayers are worth even moreto UCF, at no extra cost to you. This means that for every £1donated, UCF can claim an extra 28p from the Inland Revenue,making your generous donation stretch further. All you have todo is sign and date the form here.

Signature Date:

Please make cheques payable to the Uganda Conservation Foundation.

There are many easy ways to support UCF at www.ugandacf.org

Monkey Business?Participating in a fun run or a marathon, sponsoredsilence, knitting, climbing a mountain or whatever? Why not nominate UCF as your sponsored charity? To make this easier UCF has linked up withwww.justgiving.com/ugandacf. It’s easy to create yourown fundraising page by using the secure link on the‘Support Us’ page of our website, www.ugandacf.org.

Friends can sponsor your event or make a donation to UCF by visiting www.justgiving.com/ugandacf and youcan easily monitor the results of your sponsorship effortswhilst recovering!

If you’d like to get involved in a sponsored event but are not sure what’s right for you, drop an email tosponsorship@ugandacf.org, we’ve loads of ideas to get you started.

Are you a US citizen?Supporting UCF just got even easier! UCF’s partnershipwith the International Elephant Foundation in the USAgives US citizens the ability to gain a tax advantage bymaking donations to UCF.

Please email michael.keigwin@ugandacf.orgfor more details.

Conservation in action90% of UCF’s funding goes directly to conservationprojects. A donation of:

• $15 will buy a mosquito net that will help protect villagers in Kikarara from Malaria

• $150 will buy a life jacket for Uganda WildlifeAuthority Rangers patrolling Lake George

• $1,000 will buy a tent for Uganda Wildlife Authority Rangers patrolling the Dura sector

• $20,000 will buy a vehicle so UCF can visit the projects on a more regular basis

SPONSORED EVENTS

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.MIKE KEIGWIN RUNS A GRUELLING HALFMARATHON FUNDRAISINGFOR UCF