The World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF) Country Director, David Duli has called for private sector investment in Rwenzori Mountain National Park (RMNP), one of Uganda’s wildlife national parks, which is currently among the least visited.
Rwenzori Mountains National Park located in Western Uganda, is well known for its flora and contains a large area of mountain forests.
Additionally, the national park’s richness that includes flora and fauna scenic beauty, glacier lakes, rivers and waterfalls, diverse rock types, snow-capped peaks and rich cultural heritage makes it one of the spectacular destinations in the world.
David Duli states that in addition to the unique geographical location, the Rwenzori natural heritage and biodiversity importance has been internationally recognized.
The Ruwenzori Mountains are well-known for their unique alpine flora which includes many species endemic to the Albertine Rift in the higher altitude zones
“As a result, the part has been designated by United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as the World Heritage Site (WHS), Important Bird Area (IBA), RAMSAR site and Endemic Bird Area. This makes the Ruwenzori national park a global resource attraction“. Duli says
Unfortunately, the Rwenzori remains among the least visited destination sites in the country.
Despite the tremendous tourism resource base, the strategic location along the busiest main tourism circuit (the Western Uganda Circuit) in Uganda, Rwenzori Mountains National Park receives a mere 3,000 visitors per annum on average.
This is just 6% of the tourist traffic to its regional competitor- Kilimanjaro National Park in Tanzania.
Of the visitors to Rwenzori Mountains National Park, 61% are domestic visitors (most of whom are students who stay for a few hours at the park) and 39% are international tourists.
Most international tourists are attracted by peak climbing. To both the international and domestic market segments, the RMNP is widely known as a hiking destination despite a wide array of other potential tourism products the park can offer.
“This does not portray its full tourism potential and hence is not yet fully exploited. The WILDLIFE PARK park contributes a mere 1% to Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) revenues compared to other Uganda National Parks (Murchison Falls National Park, 20.4%; Queen Elizabeth National Park, 12.1%; Bwindi Impenetrable Gorilla National Park 50.8%; and Kibale Forest Chimpanzee National Park 8.2%) along the circuit.,” Duli says
This implies underlying issues/ constraints that undermine the volume and value of tourism for socio-economic development and sustainable conservation of the Rwenzori landscape ecosystem and its wildlife resources.
In Commemoration of World Tourism Day that will happen on September 27, WWF is partnering with, the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities and its agencies to step up efforts to increase the number of both international and domestic tourists to Rwenzori Mountains National Park (RMNP).
According to Martin Asiimwe, a Biodiversity expert at WWF, Improvement in the tourism volume is seen to come with enhanced tourism value in the entire landscape.
“The tourism-related benefits can have a substantial multiplier effect on the entire tourism value chain and importantly transform the livelihoods of communities around the park and enhance conservation“, Asiimwe says.
However, there is an urgent need for the Private sector or business to invest around the Rwenzori Mountains National park as this will boost the standard of living and quality of life for the communities around Rwenzori.
WWF under the Hemple project is now working with Uganda Wildlife Authority and Uganda Tourism Board to develop partnerships with the Private sector to facilitate and promote Tourism in the Rwenzori Mountains National Park.
According to the Senior Warden of Rwenzori Mountains National Park James Okware, sustainable tourism development and promotion is one of the key approaches to ensure increased employment and income opportunities for the communities around the park.
“Boosting tourism will mean reduced degradation of the park resources since the communities around will have alternative sources of income. We are counting on the private sector to boost this“, he said.
In a move to ensure that Rwenzori Mountains National Park benefits from its full potential as a tourism destination, the robust Tourism Business Plan which was developed by The World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF) Uganda must be adopted by Government and line agencies.
Once operationalized, this will guide the promotion and harnessing of the tourism potential of Rwenzori Mountains National Park as a unique tourism destination.
ABOUT RWENZORI MOUNTAINS
The Rwenzori Mountains previously called the Ruwenzori Range (spelling changed around 1980 to conform more closely with the local name Rwenjura), is a mountain range of eastern equatorial Africa, located on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Rwenzori mountain ranges is one of the highest mountains in Africa with several peaks that are permanently snow caped.
The three highest peaks in the Rwenzori mountain range are Margherita peak (5109m), Alexandria peak (5083m) and Albert peak (5087m), all on Mount Stanley, the third highest mountain in Africa.
The Rwenzori mountain range, which is a block mountain stretches about 110km by 50km wide and is home to an extraordinary number of rare plants and wild animals, and new examples of both are still being discovered.
Two mammals are endemic to the Rwenzori mountain range, the Rwenzori climbing mouse and the Rwenzori red duiker, as are 19 of the 241 known bird species.
Despite this, Rwenzori mountain ranges are one of Uganda’s less-visited national parks, and so mountaineers, alpinists and nature lovers wanting to escape the safari crowds should definitely put Rwenzori Mountain Trek on their African adventure list for it’s extra ordinary experience.
MOUNTAIN TREKKING ADVENTURE EXPERIENCES IN THE RWENZORI MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK IN UGANDA AND OTHER WILDLIFE NATIONAL PARKS IN UGANDA
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