1.
Presented by Geoffrey Mwedde (WCS)
at the Tackling Wildlife Crime Differently Workshop
Held 5th April 2017 at Protea Hotel Kampala
What do wildlife scout
programmes need to succeed?
A review of wildlife scout programmes
in Uganda

2.
Introduction
• Many Protected Areas in Africa have no physical
boundaries separating conservation areas from
communities
• Animals move freely
• The results is HWC – crop raiding and animal
predation
• Initiatives to mitigate HWC & compensate for crop/
animal losses are established
• These involve engaging wildlife scouts

3.
The review…
• Identifies the factors that are critical for wildlife
scout programmes in Uganda to succeed
• Meant to help UWA and NGOs enhance
sustainable benefits for both wildlife and local
communities
Methods
- Interviews with key individuals
- Review of case studies

4.
Types of wildlife scout programmes
Reasons for implementing scout programmes
differ:
- To generate benefits for park adjacent
communities
- Raise awareness on conservation
- Address HWC
- Collect ecological monitoring data

5.
Advantages of scouts
Two broad advantages:
1. They support local communities to participate in
protected area conservation and facilitate information
sharing between conservation managers and
stakeholders
2. Engaging scouts results in greater appreciation of the
need for protected areas by communities

6.
Two contexts of implementation
1. Conservancies - wildlife populations reside in
conservancies, which are community or private
protected areas (outside state protected areas).
Kibodo game scouts
Source: www.tusk.org

7.
Two contexts of implementation
Conservancy scouts are well trained, backed by
legislation and funding
E.g. Kibodo community game scouts…
 Two months training KWS – in Sch.
 Training syllabus included
- foot drill,
- personal presentation and discipline,
- wildlife and environmental law,
- wildlife education,
- physical training
- radio communications procedures.

8.
Contexts of implementation
2. Protected areas - wildlife populations reside in
protected areas managed by state agencies or
government departments.
Source: www.ugandawildlife.org/

9.
Roles of scouts
Conservancy scouts
• Play role of state agencies
(rangers)
• protecting wildlife from
poaching
• responding to HWC
incidents,
• participating in ecological
monitoring and
• supporting environmental
awareness
Protected Area scouts
• Often initiated to address
HWC by state/NGOs
• Meant to prevent
retaliatory killing
• Training largely centered
on HWC mitigation
• Livelihood/ enterprise
training given as an
incentive

10.
Lessons from Uganda
The situation:
• Scout programmes not been institutionalised
• Individuals work on a voluntary basis.
• Facilitation and incentives are vital to motivate
individuals to continue as scouts for the long term.
• Direct payment is the highest motivation though often
not viable
• Nonetheless, paying scouts a salary is an important
consideration for sustainability
o e.g. a payment ‘of appreciation’ at the end of every
month as well as food allowances or refunds for
transport expenses during training.

11.
Success factors for scouts in Uganda
1. Starting viable income generating activities
 This is the most valued incentive
 Preferences differ between communities
 Support to identify suitable enterprises, implement
them and link to markets is paramount
 Conditionality sometimes important but should be
done carefully
 Examples of enterprises – Chilli in MFNP and goats in
Bwindi (HUGO)

12.
Success factors for scouts in Uganda
2. Establishing savings schemes
 Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) a good
approach
 VSLA allows external agencies to inject ‘seed’ money
seed money
 Could be conditional on scout activity.
 Examples of exist – HUGO; Environmental Alert

13.
Success factors for scouts in Uganda
2. Establishing savings schemes
 Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) a good
approach
 VSLA allows external agencies to inject ‘seed’ money
seed money
 Could be conditional on scout activity.
 Examples of exist – HUGO; Environmental Alert

14.
Success factors for scouts in Uganda
3. Providing training and equipment
 Training that helps scouts do their work better
 Training builds their skills and abilities in enterprise
initiatives.
 Empowers scouts to help communities
 Providing equipment and food supplies for their work
in addressing HWC is essential.

15.
Success factors for scouts in Uganda
4. Enhancing community status
 Wildlife scouts obtain a higher social status as a result
of being part of a programme established by UWA
 The training that wildlife scouts receive elevates their
social status
 HUGO members, for example, are reported to feel
proud to have badges indicating that they are affiliated
to UWA

16.
Success factors for scouts in Uganda
5. Providing health insurance
 Wildlife scouts are always at risk of personal injury
 This is more challenging when scouts are simply
volunteers and not part of a formal institution
 Wildlife scouts have demanded health insurance
 Registering scout groups as CBOs can help solve the
issue
 Ensuring that scouts are supported if injured is not
only ethically important, but also fundamental for the
long term success of wildlife scout programmes

17.
Acknowledgements
Authors:
• Geoffrey Mwedde, projects manager at the Wildlife
Conservation Society Uganda Program.
• Julia Baker, a biodiversity specialist at Balfour Beatty
and research advisor for the project.
• Henry Travers, a postdoctoral research associate at the
University of Oxford.