Uganda Wildlife Authority receives Aerial Vehicles from the United Nations Development Program.

By Namukose Livia

The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) featured by Minister of Tourism Honourable Tom Butime was recently presented with six advanced aerial vehicles commonly known as drones. On the July 30^th, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) donated six vehicles to the Uganda Wildlife Authority through the Ugandan resident representative, Ms. Nwanneakolam Vwede-Obohor.

Minister Butime was pleased and praised the UNDP’s generous contribution emphasizing how important it is in the Uganda’s Wildlife conservation initiatives. He went ahead and said the drones will improve on the capacity to preserve the wildlife and their habitants while also maintaining the health of the country’s eco systems. Minister Butime deeply appreciated UNDP’s support towards the Uganda Wildlife.

Sam Mwandha, the Executive Director of the Uganda Wildlife Authority noted how the newly received drones will impact positively on the Uganda Wildlife and also signify a major upgrade. “This technology will significantly advance our conservative efforts,” commented Mwandha. He also gave a remark on how the drones will enhance the ability to monitor and gather critical data on the wildlife.

The drones received will be deployed all over the National Parks and Wildlife Reserves in the country.  They are to offer aerial observations of the varied ecosystems. The drones will also work as trackers especially during the animal transportation say from one park to another, conducting the wildlife population surveys. The drones will assist in the detecting and reporting of poaching activities that might be on going thereby providing evidence for prosecution.

The traditional ways of tracking and monitoring wildlife often requires researchers to physically enter the wildlife habitats which may sometimes be a danger to the human life. However with the drones, they can fly at safe distances analyzing and capturing data without invading into the wildlife space. These enable the monitoring of animals easily without causing any stress.

Ms. Vwede-Obahor highlighted the strong partnership between UNDP and UWA underscoring their mutual dedication to biodiversity conservative and sustainable development. She went ahead and emphasized how UNDP recognizes Uganda’s tourism sector and its importance towards the other sectors hence being donated with the aerial vehicles. She also went ahead and stated that UNDP is committed to improving Uganda’s ability to preserve and protect its wildlife. The UNDP will also give a hand in supporting UWA due to the economic role it plays in the country.

With these aerial vehicles received, they will easily and positively protect and preserve the Wildlife’s ecosystems and also conserve the animals. This will be part of a broader strategy to appreciate and utilize technology to easily identify the challenges faced by wildlife and also provide solutions to the challenges.