By Jacob Niwamanya
KANUNGU: Residents of Kanungu district have embraced the ongoing Open Park Days, with interested Ugandans visiting the Ishasha sector in the southern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park.
The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has designated 25th to 27th September as Open Park Days, allowing Ugandans to access the park free of charge and experience its wildlife and natural beauty.
Eric Ndorere, the Chief Executive Officer, SaveWildlife Uganda says visitors have had the opportunity to see different animal species and explore the Ishasha sector, one of the park’s notable wildlife areas.
“So when you do that, you connect people, the neighbours of this protected area with the wildlife and they will appreciate the beauty of these creatures and then they will join the conservation line, and also they will have that ownership of these heritages, they will believe these heritages belong to them, they don’t belong to the rangers, they don’t belong to the government, they don’t belong to the wardens, but now they will own these national parks, they will be their own national parks, they will be their own elephants, they will be their own buffalos, their own hippos,” Ndorere said.
The standard park entrance fee for adult Ugandan citizens (and other East African Community citizens) is UGX 20,000 per person per day. Children aged 5–15 years pay Sh 5,000 per day, while those below 5 years access the National Parks free of charge.
Another category is that of Ugandan pupils who pay Shs 3,000 per person, it’s Shs 5,000 for university students, while for Wildlife Club members it is only Shs. 2,000 per person.
According to Dorcas Rukundo Twesigye, UWA’s Business Development Manager, the Authority has offered free park entry during these Open Days to give people who have never entered national parks a chance to do so.
“For some communities besides Uganda’s parks, an elephant crossing the boundary can mean damaged crops. Yet a resident may live close to a protected area for years without visiting it for pleasure”, said Ms Rukundo in an earlier interview.
