EASTERN PROVINCE

RWAMAGANA — An official from the Office of Tourism and National Parks (ORTPN) has called on park communities to safeguard the parks’ environment in order to protect wildlife.

Robert Komire, Chief Park Warden for Akagera National Park made the appeal over the weekend while addressing a meeting bringing together community representatives, police and local officials from all districts neighbouring Akagera National Park at hotel Dereva.

 The districts neighboring Akagera National Park are Kayonza, Gatsibo Nyagatare and Kirehe.

"There is a big challenge before the general public to make sure that the National Parks and their habitats are accorded the value they deserve,” Komire said, further appealing to the group to play a leading role in this endeavor.

He explained that the loss of a single habitat and or degradation of a single environment ecosystem may result into big loss in terms of government revenue.

He said that five percent of all the revenue generated from park is remitted to park communities, the reason they should take the responsibility to safeguard the parks.

 Komire explained to the participants the National Park conservation laws and gave them handouts, brochures and books containing the laws. He appealed to them to toughen punitive measures as contained in the conservation laws.

Meanwhile, participants observed that creating harmony between park communities and wildlife could be hard unless the animals are tamed from encroaching on the community’s property.

"Wild animals are a threat to the property and economic activities around the park. Lions, buffalos and other wild animals stray and eat crops destroying all the fields,” Willison Mugabo, one of the participants told The New Times, adding that this was the reason residents were hostile to the wild animals.

Other hindrances to park conservation revealed by the participants include illegal poachers and fire outbreaks set by the hunting groups.

Park officials reiterated the need for tough measures against such groups and reassured the participants that concrete measures would be taken to restrict wild animals from destroying residents’ crops.

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