This document outlines the objectives and methodology of a research project studying wildlife crime in Uganda. The project aims to 1) understand the drivers and impacts of wildlife crime locally, 2) examine the socioeconomic profiles of those involved in wildlife crime, and 3) identify effective interventions for reducing wildlife crime and alleviating poverty according to local communities and managers. The research includes a literature review, household surveys of over 2,000 people living near conservation areas, choice experiments and scenario interviews to evaluate potential interventions, and key informant interviews with current and former hunters.

1. Building Capacity for Pro-Poor Responses to
Wildlife Crime in Uganda
Research Overview
Henry Travers
Project research lead

2. Project research objectives
1. What are the drivers and impacts of wildlife crime
at the local level?
2. What are the socio-economic profiles and
motivations of individuals who participate in wildlife
crime?
3. In the eyes of local people, government and
conservation managers, which interventions are
most effective in reducing wildlife crime and
contributing towards poverty alleviation?

3. Evidence Review
• A systematic review of
existing evidence from
Uganda and other
countries
• Examines evidence on
drivers and impacts of
wildlife crime
• Launch tonight at 17.00

4. Household socio-economic survey
• Survey of ~2000 households in villages bordering
MFCA and QECA completed
• Survey focused on measuring key household
demographics and socio-economic variables,
including two poverty indices
• Included indirect questioning approach to estimate
scale of participation in resource extraction from the
two conservation areas

5. Choice experiment and scenarios
• Survey of ~500 households included in the
household socio-economic survey
• Both approaches focused on potential interventions
aimed at reducing participation in wildlife crime
• Choice experiments investigated preferences of likely
beneficiaries/targets of different interventions
• Scenario interviews investigated likely behavioural
response to different interventions

6. Interventions investigated
• Revenue sharing funds directed to human-wildlife
conflict (HWC) mitigation
• Increased utilisation of natural resources (sustainable
hunting of bushmeat)
• Withdrawal of all access to natural resources
• Wildlife friendly enterprise scheme
• Eco – guards and anonymous text scheme

7. Key-informant interviews
• Interviewed ~50 reformed or current hunters from
villages north of MFCA
• Interviews focused on understanding:
- main motivations of illegal hunters
- hunting methods
- likely response to interventions aimed at reducing
participation in wildlife crime
• investigated relationship between bushmeat and
trophy hunting