The Parliamentary Forum for Conservation and Sustainable Tourism has tasked the government with investigating the underlying causes of the dwindling lion population before rolling out Shs10 billion for the breeding of lions as requested by wildlife authorities to boost the dwindling lion population.
The call was made by Henry Kibalya (Bugabula South), a member of the forum, and Edith Kabesiime, Wildlife Campaign Manager for Africa from the World Animal Protection, who expressed their support for the project during a press briefing at Parliament as part of the activities to mark World Wildlife Day, which is celebrated annually on March 3.
Although Kabesiime defended the proposal to boost the lion population in Uganda, she called for the government to first investigate the underlying causes of the dwindling lion population.
Kibalya called for the need for investment in more technology to boost the lion population in Uganda, noting that Shs10Bn will make a point.
In the projected budget for 2024–2025, the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (UWEC) seeks Shs10 billion to pave the way for the breeding of lions within three game parks to increase the population of lions within the country. UWEC informed Parliament that in 2022, Uganda had about 460 lions, which number has dropped to about 310 lions in a space of one year.
Kabesiime explained that a century ago, the African continent had over 40 million lions, and 100 years down the road, Africa has less than 20,000 lions remaining in the wild, blaming the reduction in human population on habitat loss and poaching.
The Forum also urged the government to share appropriate revenue collected directly to support organized communities surrounding conservation areas and national parks to reduce rampant poaching.
They also urged the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife, and Antiquities to bring together all the various organizations and actors involved in conservation to discuss and harmonize the lion population recovery and restocking program.
They want the government to expedite the issue of rationalization and merging of UWEC and UWA at a time when the decentralization of conservation education centers is necessary to reduce mass tourism issues and to encourage bringing conservation closer to people while connecting people and the planet.
