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BY RICHARD DRASIMAKU
ARUA: MONDAY, JULY 02, 2023
While growing up as a child, Ben Afidra Amorimvapi, a resident of Degiya village, Olali parish-Ogoko Sub County developed fondness for White Rhinos.
With his village home sitting on what was a controlled hunting area of Ajai wildlife reserve, Amorimvapi points to a bare ground next to his house.
“That is where white Rhinos used to defecate once in a month. Each day they chose a different place for easing themselves,” he recalls candidly.
A retired civil servant and proven conservationist, Amorimvapi says in the evening, the rhinos would lie on the road on warm sand and then graze at night where they would move up to Rhino Camp, coexisting peacefully with the local community.
“They were our gold. The Madi never ate white rhinos because it was believed that when you eat them, you develop a big stomach and die,” he says of the cultural reverence attached to the beasts in the olden days.
However, things became precarious for white rhinos from 1972 following the infamous economic war declared on Asians by the late former Ugandan President, Idi Amin.
Amorimvapi explains that some of the Asians fled to South Africa whereupon the apartheid regime demanded for their compensation for lost businesses.
This, he says, prompted the government to hurtle White Rhinos in crates to South Africa to compensate the Asians and when the sanctuary guards saw that the animals were being taken away they began killing those left behind for ivory.
The animals were eventually finished by poachers during the lawlessness that followed the violent ouster of Amin. Only baboons, vervet monkeys and black and white colobus monkeys were left to dominate the reserve for a long time.
It is for this reason that the community is calling for the reintroduction of the white rhinos.
Critically endangered species
According to the IUCN red list of threatened species 2008, the status of the White Rhinos is critically endangered.
They are revered for playing a critical biodiversity role as natural lawn mowers of their habitat that in turn helps other small animals, birds and insects such as beetles to thrive.
As they paddle around swampy areas in search for water, white rhinos create pockets of water dams that provide a source of drinking water for birds and antelopes thereby avoiding crowding and reducing risk of being targeted by predators.
UWA steps in
In the quest to reintroduce the rhinos back in Uganda’s wildlife protected areas, the government of Uganda, through the national wildlife watchdog Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has since 2006 been running a breeding program at the ZIWA Rhino Sanctuary in Nakasongola district to multiply the original stock of six Southern White Rhinos.
To date, the Rhinos have increased to 35 individuals and are now ready for re-introduction into the Wild at Ajai Wildlife Reserve.
Before the White Rhinos got extinct from the wild in Uganda, Ajai Wildlife Reserve and its environs in the current Madi Okollo district was the known White Rhino ranging habitat in the country.
Since the 1930’s the reserve sitting on 166 square kilometres has evolved from a wildlife sanctuary, game reserve and now a Wildlife reserve.
According to the Ajai Wildlife Reserve General Management Plan 2021/22-2030/31 drafted in February 2021, the Management of the reserve has also evolved over time; it was initially managed by the colonial officials with Chief Ajai being the most known, followed by the Uganda Game Department and now the Uganda Wildlife Authority.
The UWA in 2010 and 2015 carried out animal population census of Ajai wildlife reserve after contracting the Uganda wildlife Safaris to develop the wildlife reserve.
The results showed that the reserve was dominated by primates such as baboons, black and white colobus monkeys and vervet monkeys. These are followed by antelopes like kobs, duikers and orbi while the pig family has bush pigs and warthogs.
A second census carried out in 2015 established an increase in the number of some of the dominant wildlife species from 1,189 to over 1,202.
But by 2020, UWA was forced not to grant an extension of Uganda wildlife Safari’s contract for failure to develop the reserve for tourism.
The authority then proceeded to contact a feasibility study to ascertain the suitability of Ajai for white rhino reintroduction.
Among the recommendations of the study was the need to acquire additional land from the Lali and Madali communities measuring approximately 26.58 square kilometers which provides a suitable breeding ground for the rhinos.
The studies further show that the block marked 1 on the map would be for non-breeding male rhinos and River Gazi which separates it from the southern sector would form a natural barrier to deter the non-breeding male rhinos from crossing to the Southern sector.
Based on these recommendations, the UWA Board of Trustees at its meeting on June 16, 2022 at Buhoma in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park resolved to have the white rhinos at ZIWA trans-located to the Ajai Wildlife Reserve.
The UWA board further directed management to consult and work closely with the Madi Okollo district local government to ensure the re-introduction exercise is done smoothly and fast tracked to shorten the duration within which the entire re-introduction exercise is concluded.
Dr Margaret Driciru, the Acting Chief Warden of the Murchison Falls Conservation Area that includes Ajai wildlife reserve affirms that a decision has been taken to re-introduce the White Rhinos to its natural habitat at Ajai Wildlife Reserve. She adds that a substantial amount of money needs to be found to bankroll the process.
She says consultations are ongoing with different stakeholders and hopes that by 2024 the rhino species would have been re-introduced to Ajai conservation area.
“The species needs a lot of protection and UWA is going to construct accommodation for the required manpower, build new offices, and establish electrical fences and hotel facilities,” Dr Driciru reiterates.
Representing the UWA executive director during the launch of the translocation of kobs from Kabwoya wildlife reserve to Kidepo National park recently, John Makombo, the director for ecological monitoring at UWA disclosed that it will cost sh4b to create the conducive environment, set up facilities and translocate 20 white rhinos and other species to increase the animal population at Ajai by 2024.
However the community wants UWA to handle the reintroduction process differently and more transparently.
Local resident Amorimvapi is afraid that the reintroduction of the white-Rhinos will lead to eroding of some cultural values that are dear to the Madi if removal of people residing inside the protected area results in separation of families.
“What happens when I am forced to move away to say Bwiyale (in Kiryandongo) and my young son who is just near this reserve boundary remains behind? Who is going to give him guidance and knowledge on our culture?,” he wondered aloud.
Amorimvapi insists that as elders they have a lot of information to pass on to the younger generation ranging from traditional marriages to folkdance and age-old art of anklet smelting, smithing of arrows, spears and cowbells; papyrus mat making, fish traps, arrow quivers and granary crafting and this makes the moves to relocate people to new settlements ill advised.
Citing his case, Amorimvapi complains that he grew up with the animals in the wild but wonders why the UWA wants him and the 11 homesteads in Degia sector to be resettled away from the reserve yet he has well understood the value of the wildlife.
He says the only alternative to preserve the Madi culture is to allow the communities negbouring the reserve to continue to coexist with the animals in the reserve and not curve them out of the reserve.
Amorimvapi cautions the government against psychologically torturing locals through threats of eviction but rather appreciates the re-integration of various traditional values and practices with modern approaches to effectively conserving the wild animals.
But Rebecca Aniku, a native of Degiya village who also is a conservationist, believes the re-introduction of the White rhinos will enhance efforts to preserve the rich culture of the Ma’di through attracting people from the outside world to buy the cultural artifacts thus boosting the tourism potential of the entire Northern region.
She asserts that many old people, especially women are dying without passing on knowledge and skills of making cultural artifacts such as winnowing pans because the values attached to them have dwindled due to lack of demand and market, a trend that could be revitalised when tourists start pouring in to see rhinos and other animals at Ajai.
“This is a poverty alleviation project. Our place is poor with no hotels and many youths are jobless but we shall have tourism jobs. This reintroduction of white rhinos will also preserve the land, the trees and the environment in the wildlife reserve,” explained Aniku.
Odama Rokoni Ma’dimva, the community Wildlife Association vice Secretary for Ajai says the planned re-introduction of the White Rhinos presents a huge opportunity for the communities living around Ajai wildlife Reserve and the region through jobs creation arising from the various social services that shall be established around the sanctuary and in other parts of the region.
Ma’dimva says land is however a key factor in the planned re-introduction of the White Rhinos at Ajai.He says while the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) is seeking for expansion of the Wildlife reserve land there has to be a win –win situation.
Ma’dimva says the communities neighbouring the Ajai sanctuary need improved water, health, infrastructure, electricity, markets and other services, in addition to fencing of the gazetted sanctuary to avoid Human-WildLife conflict.
Madi-Okollo district Chairperson Ismael Drabe says the communities neighbouring the Wild Life Reserve were sensitized in February this year and what now remains is compensation of the affected households.
According to Drabe, the White Rhinos may be re-introduced by the end of next year to allow UWA to secure the sanctuary by fencing.
On the planned expansion of the sanctuary, Drabe says the ultimate decision to get additional land for expansion of the reserve lies solely in the hands of the communities who are the owners of the land but not the local government of Madi-Okollo.
Ben Lacam Ojara, a former Game Assistant at Ajai game reserve, says Ajai is the natural habitat of the Northern White Rhinos not Ziwa Rhino sanctuary and so the re-introduction of the White Rhinos is long overdue.
Ojara said the significance of the White Rhinos led to the naming of a Hotel in Arua then as the White Rhino Hotel which provided both recreational services and employment opportunities for the people of West Nile.
He adds that the reintroduction of the White Rhinos provides socio-economic and political benefits to the people of West Nile and the country, besides the grass at the game reserve is the most suitable for the White rhinos.
“Prepare the people to receive their white rhinos because the species has to come back to its natural home. The pride of Uganda which has been missing for over 40 years will bring joy to the people,” Ojara said of White Rhinos.
The production of this story was supported by InfoNile in partnership with JRS Biodiversity Foundation, International Union for Conservation of Nature/TRAFFIC and Internews’ Earth Journalism Network .
This article was republished by the InfoNile on September 11, 2023
This article is dope dope
A very comprehensive story. Thanks so much Drasimaku for this write up.
Good morning Mr Drasimaku Richard. How are you doing with your God given talent of relating the dark world to light.
Drasimaku, I think I put the following point very clear for everyone to understand:
1: I don’t live in the reserve, a neighbor to the PA,
2: I advocated for coexistence of wildlife with the human beings.
3: I clearly told you people, keeping the s in blocks of fence is *reintroduction* but in my sense they will be in their own homes where for over 60year they have been destroyed and spices almost extincted.
5: Compensation shouldn’t be the first agenda where wrong language is spoken against the locals and their representatives. Allow me to say that those who are giving suchlike don’t follow very well and instead are *egoistic*.
I am therefore refuting the negative spread of the news by some people that politicians and some citizens are subortaging government programs.
If that money for their so called compensation is there, we are not *interested*in coz these animals are God given gifts.
Thank you for your job done.