The Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda (CCFU) has called for the integration of cultural heritage and indigenous knowledge into Uganda’s Wildlife Management Policy 2025.
During a national stakeholders dialogue at Onomo Hotel today, CCFU highlighted gaps in the 2014 Wildlife Policy, noting the limited recognition of cultural leaders, heritage sites, and community-based conservation practices.
The dialogue waa attended by government officials, cultural leaders, civil society, private forest owners, community members from Rwenzori and Bunyoro, and media.
Supported by the Arcus Foundation, CCFU conducted consultations in Kasese, Bunyangabu, Kikuube, Kagadi-Muhooro, and Kakumiro, engaging cultural and religious leaders, Indigenous Minority Communities, clan members, Uganda Wildlife Authority, National Forestry Authority, and the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities.
“Cultural leaders are key custodians of biodiversity. Excluding them from conservation governance threatens ecological sustainability and cultural heritage,” said Barbra Babweteera, CCFU Executive Director.
Participants highighted several conservation issues that need to be integrated in the wildlife policy.
Some of the key findings from the CCFU consulations were: Traditional leaders and clan taboos, like those of the Abathangyi and Abanyanja clans in Bunyoro, have protected species such as chimpanzees; Compensation and resettlement models often ignore the cultural value of sacred forests and landscapes; Overreliance on market-based compensation risks escalating land conflicts, eroding trust in conservation, and increasing human-wildlife conflict and private forests, once used for rituals and medicine, are vital chimpanzee habitats but lack adequate protection.
CCFU proposed recognizing cultural leaders in conservation governance; Aligning strategies with indigenous knowledge to enhance human-wildlife coexistence; Developing culturally sensitive compensation and resettlement frameworks; Including cultural institutions in benefit-sharing models like Payment for Ecosystem Services and establishing culturally inclusive Public-Private Partnerships to manage wildlife corridors and sacred landscapes.
Babweteera said the recommendations align with the Emirates Declaration on Culture-Based Climate Action from COP28, emphasizing the interdependence of environmental conservation and cultural heritage.
CCFU is a non-profit organisation that collaborates with communities and institutions to promote conservation through cultural lenses.
Its 2014 and 2018 research confirmed strong ties between traditional beliefs and conservation, particularly for great apes, linked to ancestry, rituals, folklore, and traditional medicine.
