全球智库信息集成服务系统

High levels of illegal resource use in two of Uganda’s national parks show the need to rethink current approaches to combatting wildlife crime. Our research suggests that more than 40 per cent of households living adjacent to the Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls national parks have been involved in illegal hunting within the past year, mostly to catch bushmeat for local sale and consumption. Most hunters do not typically target high value internationally traded species, but may occasionally kill them as ‘bycatch.’ Though rare, this phenomenon has a significant cumulative impact. Effectively tackling the root causes of illegal hunting will require longer-term and more focused engagement between the Uganda Wildlife Authority and communities. Local people and wildlife officials identified mitigating human–wildlife conflict, supporting sustainable livelihoods and increasing employment opportunities as promising avenues for further investigation.