B Y M I C H A E L W A M A S E B U A S S I S T A N T D P P UGANDA WILD LIFE MANAGEMENT LEGAL FRAME WORK AND RELATED PROSECUTION CHALLENGES INTRODUCTION • The constitution of Uganda provides for state protection of important natural resources such as land, water, wetlands, minerals, fauna and flora on behalf of the people of Uganda. • The first written wildlife policy for Uganda was formulated in 1994. This policy was revised in 2014 to take into account new international and national priorities. 7/30/2022 UGANDA WILD LIFE LEGAL FRAMEWORK 2 SOME KEY CHALLENGES THAT INFORMED UGANDA WILD LIFE POLICY • Protection of areas with high levels of biological bio diversity. • Sustainable management of Uganda’s wildlife populations and protection of threatened and endangered species and habitats. • Mitigating human wildlife conflicts and enhancing positive attitudes towards conservation of wild life resources. • Combating poaching, illegal wildlife trade and trafficking of wildlife species and or products. 7/30/2022 UGANDA WILD LIFE LEGAL FRAMEWORK 3 SOME GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF UGANDA WILD LIFE POLICY • Sustainable development ; conservation of Uganda’s wild life resources shall be in such away as to meet the development and environmental needs of present and future generations. • The Doctrine of Public Trust; the state shall hold in trust and manage wildlife resources for the benefit of and on behalf of the people of Uganda. • Maximisation of benefits: Wildlife conservation and development activities shall take the form that maximises benefits while maintaining ecological integrity. 7/30/2022 UGANDA WILD LIFE LEGAL FRAMEWORK 4 UGANDA WILD LIFE ACT 2000 In its endeavour to enforce the wild life policy, the GOU has adopted several measures. Key among them is the enactment of legislation to regulate the sector. The most important of these laws is the Uganda wild Life Act of 2000 7/30/2022 UGANDA WILD LIFE LEGAL FRAMEWORK 5 THE OBJECTS OF THE UWA By its long title, the Act intended; “..to provide for sustainable management of wildlife; to consolidate the law relating to wildlife management; to establish a coordinating , monitoring and supervisory body for that purpose and for other matters incidental to or connected with the foregoing” 7/30/2022 UGANDA WILD LIFE LEGAL FRAMEWORK 6 SUMMARY OF UWA ACT • Establishment of UWA • General management measures • Setting up of Wildlife conservation areas • Declaration of protected species • Definition of wild life use rights • Regulation of professional hunters and trappers • Management of problem animals • Specification of methods of hunting • International trade in species and specimens 7/30/2022 UGANDA WILD LIFE LEGAL FRAMEWORK 7 PART 11 OF UWA- PENALTIES, FORFEITURES AND OTHER From the law enforcement point of view, this part is the most important as it defines and criminalises wild life offences. 7/30/2022 UGANDA WILD LIFE LEGAL FRAMEWORK 8 OFFENCES UNDER UWA • S. 74 ; offences relating to protected species. These include; • Taking , hunting , molesting or reducing into possession of any protected species. • Possession of, selling , buying, transferring or accepting to transfer protected species; The above offences carry a punishment of a fine of maximum one million ug shs or maximum of five years imprisonment. 7/30/2022 UGANDA WILD LIFE LEGAL FRAMEWORK 9 OFFENCES (CTD) • S. 76 Offences relating to import , export or re export of specimen of protected species as defined in S. 66 carry a fine of minimum thirty thousand and maximum of three million ug shs or imprisonment for a term of not less than three months imprisonment or both the fine and the imprisonment term. 7/30/2022 UGANDA WILD LIFE LEGAL FRAMEWORK 10 OFFENCES (CTD) • S. 77. Penalises offences related to devices; These include; • Hunting using excavations, fences, enclosures or any other device fixed in or on the ground or upon vegetation Use of such devices attracts the above penalties and in addition an order of the court to destroy or obliterate the device at the expense of the offender. 7/30/2022 UGANDA WILD LIFE LEGAL FRAMEWORK 11 OFFENCES (CTD) • S. 78. Provided for forfeiture as an additional penalty on top of a monetary fine and or imprisonment term. • S. 82 allows court to cancel the licence of a holder who has been involved in crime in addition to any other penalty. 7/30/2022 UGANDA WILD LIFE LEGAL FRAMEWORK 12 PROSECUTING MECHANISMS FOR WILDLIFE OFFENCES • The bulk of prosecutions under the UWA are conducted by prosecutors employed by UWA who are licenced and supervised by O/DPP. • Some of the prosecutions, especially high profile cases are conducted by O/DPP. • UWA cases committed to the High Court due to complexity or other reasons are exclusively prosecuted by O/DPP. 7/30/2022 UGANDA WILD LIFE LEGAL FRAMEWORK 13 CHALLENGES IN ENFORCING UWA • The authority which oversees the enforcement of the Act is severely constrained in terms of man power. This also applies to O/DPP which has other pressing cases to handle. • There are labs in Uganda to carry out specialised investigations involving specimens. Use of labs outside the country delays investigations and prosecutions. • There is evidence of collaboration between some UWA operatives and criminal gangs. Recent specimens intercepted at the air port bore UWA stamps meaning they were stolen from UWA stoke piles. 7/30/2022 UGANDA WILD LIFE LEGAL FRAMEWORK 14 CHALLENGES (CTD) • Cases committed to the High Court take long to be disposed of. • Failure by GOU to come up with a policy on disposal of stoke piles continues to expose stoke piles to criminal activity. • The negative attitude of communities neighbouring protected areas make it difficult to investigate, arrest and prosecute offenders. 7/30/2022 UGANDA WILD LIFE LEGAL FRAMEWORK 15 THE END 7/30/2022 UGANDA WILD LIFE LEGAL FRAMEWORK 16