Uganda calls for collaboration with airlines in fight against illicit trade in wildlife

November 19, 2023 in Business, Companies, Transport, Travel & Tourism by Editor

Delegates watch as zookeepers feed a Nile Crocodile at UWEC

A more deliberate effort by airlines to work closely with conservationists, could help minimise the menace of illicit trade in wildlife and its negative impacts on biodiversity, argues James Musinguzi, the executive director of the Entebbe based, Uganda Wildlife Education Centre UWEC.

Speaking to earlier today to delegates to the 55^th edition of the African Airlines Association -AFRAA- annual general assembly, Musinguzi observed that as enablers of mobility, airlines have a critical source to play containing the vice, whose value is estimated at between USD 7-23bn annually.

“Wildlife trafficking is an organized criminal activity run by sophisticated global networks, that exploits the desperate struggle for survival by people living in the countries of origin for wildlife. As carriers, airlines can play a critical in stopping illicit trade in wildlife by enhancing internal controls to ensure illegal wildlife specimen are not carried on their flights,” Musinguzi said.

Dozens of delegates to the AFRAA AGM arrived mid-morning at the 70-year-old UWEC, to a welcome of ecstatic dancing, the pulsating beat of the African drum and a 2-hour tour of the expansive facility, which is a microcosm of Uganda’s natural environment. Living displays there the visitor a glimpse into the kind of wildlife they are likely to encounter in each of Uganda’s eleven protected areas.

For a small fee, visitors get up-close with the big cats’ native to Uganda, primates, huge mammals such as the elephant, giraffe and buffalo, aquatic animals and rare bird species that have found peace at the wildlife sanctuary.

The formal sessions of the 55^th AFRAA AGM which has attracted upwards of 500 delegates, kick off November 20 Speke Resort Munyonyo, where Uganda’s Vice President Jessica Alupo will be the guest of honor.

The event has attracted a diversity of players in the aviation industry with both aerospace giants’ Airbus and Boeing, captains of industry, airline leaders and system vendors in attendance.