SHOEBILL CONSERVATION AT MABAMBA-BUSI ISLANDS;
IMPORTANT BIRD AREAS
The Project
Mabamba Bay and Busi islands were identified as important bird areas (IBAs) in Uganda by Nature Uganda, a local NGO with the support of other development partners. This intervention has progressively turned the Mabamba Bay into a tourist destination. Despite these interventions, shoebills have and other bird and animal species continue to be threatened due to lack of consistent and intensive conservation programmes. Although there have been an increase in the number of tourists to the Bay, there hasn’t been any deliberate attempts to turn the place into a well-organized tourist destination. For instance there were no reliable toilets, restaurants, shelter in case of heavy rainfall and sunshine, trained local guides and accommodation facilities. The increasing number of tourists is likely to be reversed due to the poor nature of such supporting facilities at the site.
SCORE Uganda a local NGO in partnership with Shoebill Safaris a local private company approached the Netherlands Committee of IUCN for a small fund to develop some of the tourist facilities and also raise the profile of Mabamba Bay on realizing that there was a possible reversal of the achievements so far. This Conservation project is intended to make Mabamba Bay known in Uganda and beyond. The project is code named the Shoebill Conservation at Mabamba- Busi islands: An Important Bird Area.
Objectives of the Mabamba Shoebill Project
-To equip the local community with relevant management/ governance, marketing, conservation and hospitality skills.
-To support the local community improve the infrastructure like sanitation, shelter and other facilities that make the sire more attractive to the tourists.
- Raise the profile of the site through local and international marketing for the purpose of attracting all types of tourists.
The Project activities, which have so far been accomplished with the support of the local community, include:
- Construction of the Shoebill House, which will be used as an information center, a guest canteen, resting place and a venue for community trainings, meetings and other purposes.
- Training of 15 members of the site Governing Committee in Community Leadership skills and Management. The trainees include the elected leaders of the site users, bird guides and the local council leaders of Mabamba/ Buwaya mainland and Mabamba/Busi Island.
- A camping site neighboring the Shoebill house has been cleared of the shrubs and other tall grasses. Facilities like toilets, urinals, bath shades and kitchen are yet to be erected at the site.
- 4attractive sigh posts designed in an authentic fashion have been erected from the Kampala- Masaka highway at Mpigi through the 24km stretch up to Mabamba Bay.
- 10 local bird guides have been trained in conservation and bird guiding.
- A tourist recording system has been established as a means of keeping surveillance of the tourists visiting the site on a daily basis.
- Information on the Mabamba Bay site has been posted on the Shoebill safaris website. www.shoebillsafaris.com as a way of informing the whole world about the tourist potential of Mabamba bay as well as raising its profile.
The outputs so far include:
- The local Community has started appreciating the importance of conserving the shoebill since it is becoming the source of their incomes.
- All site users have realized that there has been a leadership vacuum that has culminated into slow development of the site. Order and organized leadership is slowly trickling in.
- The Wakiso local government administration has also gazzetted the bay as a local revenue collection point on realizing the developments that are taking place.
- The local community a womens group has been trained in handcrafts making to boost their income through the sale of their products to the tourists.
