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Nwoya, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda Wildlife Authority-UWA plans to install more than 100 kilometers of electric fence around the Murchison Falls National Park boundary to curb rising wildlife invasion into community settlements.
The plan according to UWA officials is an addition to the current 30 kilometers of electric fence being installed around the National park boundary with community lands in Oyam and Nwoya districts.
Hangi Bashir, the UWA Communications Manager says that the installation of the electric fence will kick off this financial year 2022/23. He says the project will be undertaken with funds donated to UWA by its partner in mapped human-wildlife conflict hotspot areas.
He notes that the development is part of UWA’s commitment to ensuring that the communities residing near the national park go on with crop cultivation without worrying about the invasion of wildlife into their gardens.
“We are committed to ensuring that animals don’t get out of the park to go to communities, we are committed to ensuring that communities cultivate their crops and harvest them, that they don’t spend the entire nights guarding their gardens and that’s why we are determined to build as many kilometers of the electric fence as possible,” He says.
The development however comes in the wake of complaints from local farmers in areas of Koch Goma and Koch Lii sub-counties in Nwoya district that recently lost hundreds of acres of crops to marauding elephants.
In May, local farmers reported that more than 40 herds of elephants crossed from Murchison Falls National Park and invaded Gony-cogo village in Lii Parish, Koch Lii sub-county before destroying hundreds of acres of maize, beans, and soya beans.
The area according to local farmers and leaders’ despite being mapped among hotspots for wildlife invasion hadn’t been fenced by UWA.
Christopher Omara, the Nwoya Resident District Commissioner welcomed the move by UWA to add more kilometers of electric fence citing that elephants are still continuing to invade community land. He however says UWA officials should liaise with the district leaders to ensure speedy work.
Already, UWA has completed installing electric fences on parts of a 30 km stretch along Murchison Falls National Park in areas of Purongo and Got Apwoyo sub-counties in Nwoya district, and Kamdini sub-county in Oyam district.
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