TUSK AWARD FOR CONSERVATION IN AFRICA FINALIST 2020
George Owoyesigire
Uganda
Starting as a Field Ranger, George Owoyesigire has risen the ranks to Deputy Director for Community Conservation at the Uganda Wildlife Authority.
Throughout his career, he has been a passionate and dependable advocate for communities living near wildlife. His foremost intervention of bee-keeping for human-elephant conflict mitigation has changed lives around Uganda’s Kibale National Park. Not only has it deterred elephants from raiding crops and destroying property, it has also generated much-needed income for poor rural communities through the sale of honey, single-handedly turning around community attitudes towards conservation.
A versatile conservationist, he is as comfortable in a community meeting as he is drafting policy. He has been key to the formulation of national policy for the management of human-wildlife conflict, ensuring communities and wildlife can continue to co-exist with mutual benefit.
Poverty is one of the principal causes of environmental degradation, poaching and the illegal wildlife trade. Unless people strike a balance between the costs and the benefits, they won’t want to be helping wildlife. The issue we need to confront is promoting livelihood enterprises.Poverty is one of the principal causes of environmental degradation, poaching and the illegal wildlife trade. Unless people strike a balance between the costs and the benefits, they won’t want to be helping wildlife. The issue we need to confront is promoting livelihood enterprises.
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