Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has called for stronger collaboration among government agencies, security institutions and communities in West Nile to address wildlife and forest-related crimes in the region.
The call was made during the eighth strategic awareness and engagement meeting of the National Anti-Wildlife Crime Task Force, held in Arua City, where stakeholders discussed ways of strengthening coordination and collective action against wildlife and forest crime.
Speaking during the meeting, Hope Asimwe, a forest officer at the Ministry of Water and Environment and Acting Chairperson of the National Wildlife Crime Coordination Task Force, emphasized the importance of closer cooperation among the 14 government agencies that make up the task force.
Asimwe said that strengthened coordination would support joint planning and operations, as well as enhance collective efforts to prevent and combat wildlife and forest-related crimes.
She also called on communities across West Nile to share challenges affecting wildlife and forest conservation, noting that such information would enable government agencies and other stakeholders to identify and address the challenges collectively.
The Resident City Commissioner of Arua City, Rtd. Major Betty Otekat Akello, who was the chief guest, welcomed the task force and described the engagement as strategic and timely. Otekat noted that West Nile’s proximity to Uganda’s international borders with the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan makes collaboration among security, conservation and environmental agencies particularly important in addressing wildforest-related crimes.
She called for increased efforts to protect Uganda’s natural heritage, which contributes to the country’s reputation as the “Pearl of Africa.”
The Acting Chief Warden and Senior Warden, Wilson Katamigwa, also welcomed the task force to the Murchison Falls Conservation Area, Uganda’s largest protected area, whose jurisdiction extends into the West Nile region. Katamigwa assured participants of continued efforts to maintain healthy biodiversity and encouraged stakeholders to support local tourism by participating in the Open Parks Days scheduled for September 25–27, 2026.
The two-day engagement at held at Tropical Hotel in Arua was organized by Uganda Wildlife Authority, together with the National Anti-Wildlife Crime Task Force, with support from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). It brought together Resident City Commissioners, Resident District Commissioners and their assistants, security agencies, conservation authorities and local leaders from across the West Nile region.
